Love Like These
by teasingyourtears
Summary: Part II to the F.R.I.E.N.D.S-inspired story that tells the lives of six friends living together in the city. AU. More love and more angst. Disclaimer: not all aspects & relationships of the characters featured in the sitcom are reflected.
1. the one where she landed

PART ONE – CHAPTER ONE

**THE ONE WHERE SHE LANDED**

Beca heaved and pulled her heavy trunk across the gravel as she headed to her beat-up Toyota Corolla. She had just finished another gig at a high school prom and she was totally exhausted from the drama that had happened earlier.

"I need a drink, pronto," she muttered, fishing out her keys and opening the trunk.

Just as she finally settled in the driver's seat, her phone went off and she begrudgingly picked it up.

"Beca? It's Mr Houston."

"Mr Houston? Is this about the rent? I've just done a gig and I have enough-"

"Yes, it's about the apartment. I need you to move out by the end of the next week."

"What?"

"I have new tenants coming in."

"But Mr Houston, I have enough money to cover-"

"Beca, you've dragged your last two months' rent for too long and-"

"Please, Mr Houston. I have nowhere else to stay!"

"I'm sorry, Beca but I've already given them my word. Tell you what, two weeks – tops. You'd have to move out at the end of two weeks. That's all, Beca. Good night."

Beca flung her phone to the backseat and cursed under her breath when it bounced against the leather seats and came straight back at her head.

"Even you are against me?!" She glared at the phone, rubbing the back of her head. She then realized it was already past midnight. While sighing, she pulled out of the parking lot and slowly drove towards the apartment. Along the way, she passed by a grubby-looking bar and decided to stop for a drink.

_Meanwhile..._

"I'm telling you – I'm going to score that next Baz Luhrmann movie. Take my word for it, you beautiful people!" Jesse gushed, taking another swig of his beer and gestured at his friends. Bumper quickly reached over and grabbed the bottle away, spilling some of its contents on Jesse's pants. The brunette yelped and made his way to the men's room clumsily.

Aubrey laughed at her friends' antics, reaching for her own beer when she froze at the sight of a short brunette woman who was making her way to the bar. Her arm hung in mid-air as her jaw dropped in recognition of her childhood friend.

"Beca?"

The brunette woman spun around at her name and froze; her expression mirrored that of Aubrey's.

"Aubrey?"

The two women started approaching each other in slow motion; their eyes steeled into a staring contest. When they finally reached each other, Aubrey stuck out a hand and Beca shook it solemnly. They stood like that for a few more moments before erupting into mad laughter. Beca pulled Aubrey towards her and engulfed her in a crushing bear hug, feeling the tension in her shoulders lessen at the sight of a familiar face after a long day. Tears began to sting her eyes as she wondered when the last time was when she'd felt so relieved.

Beca was exhausted.

Having fulfilled her end of the bargain with her dad by finishing college with flying colors, she arrived at Los Angeles in hope of making a name for herself in the DJ industry. After a whole lot of rejections and mockery, she finally got herself into some small-time gigs just to earn enough for the rent and groceries.

She'd spent the money her dad gave her to finance her DJ equipment. Too proud and stubborn to ask her dad for more, she chose to survive on apples, bread and peanut butter. Her urge to find a big-time gig had left her no time to find a day job as she needed the time to make mixes. But it became a vicious cycle as she'd mostly be too hungry to even think of matching up bass lines to create a good enough track. This had culminated to the phone call from her landlord earlier.

She was going to be homeless soon.

As the two women pulled apart, Aubrey immediately noticed the bloodshot eyes and quickly tugged the brunette towards her table and sat her down. Her other friends kept silent and waited for Beca to calm down.

"Beca, what's wrong?" Aubrey gently probed, taking a napkin and dabbing at the shorter woman's cheeks. Beca smiled at the gesture and sighed, closing her eyes as she related her tale to her childhood friend.

When she was done, Beca opened her eyes and found herself wrapped in Aubrey's arms. It was then that she noticed the blonde's friends who were seated at the table whilst she was talking. There was another woman who looked their age with crimson hair; her own eyes glossy after listening to Beca's life story. The brunette found herself having to ply her eyes away from the redhead to focus on the remaining company.

Three other men occupied the seats opposite the women: a goofy-looking brunette with a flushed face and wet pants; a blonde man with handsome boyish features that seemed to resemble Aubrey's, and a stocky-looking brunette whose hair was lighter than the first man's. All three of them were staring at the two of them with bemused expressions. Aubrey cleared her throat.

"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce you guys. Beca, meet my gang: this is Chloe, my best friend" she motioned to the other woman who immediately scooted over; her hips very near to Beca's, causing the brunette to inhale sharply. "This is Jesse – he's drunk. And I believe you don't remember my older brother, Luke," she ruffled the blonde man's hair making him yelp in protest.

"And this is is Bennett-"

"-But they all call me Bumper so," the third man lifted his fist to Beca and she bumped it with her own fist, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I'm Beca," she smirked, looking around the group once again.

"Hi Beca." The group chorused, causing Beca's smirk to grow into a full-blown smile.

Aubrey chuckled softly at her friends' antics and turned to face Beca with a serious expression. Beca noticed and turned to face her as well.

"So you won't have a place to crash after two weeks?" Beca nodded sadly.

Aubrey turned to the redhead who was wearing a thoughtful look on her face; she arched her eyebrow and nodded. The blonde nodded back in kind and turned back to face Beca again.

"Mitchell, I'd hate to say this but, unfortunately we have an extra room in Chloe and mine's apartment."

Beca's eyes went wide at her words. _Extra room?_

"Really, Posen. That's unfortunate indeed."

Aubrey bit her lower lip and stifled her laughter as she continued, "Yes, and you know what's more unfortunate?" Beca nodded for her to continue. "We couldn't find a third flatmate after all these years."

"Ah, I see, Pos-"

Chloe, not getting the game the two friends were playing at, jumped in excitedly, "Yeah, so why don't you come room with us, Becs?"

"Becs?"

"Ignore Chloe – she's overly friendly at times."

"Well Posen, if you can handle all of this," Beca motioned at herself, "I'd take up your offer."

Aubrey smirked and rolled her eyes playfully, "Yeah, I'd say the same to you, Mitchell. So it's a deal?" She stuck out her hand and waited. Beca looked from her outstretched hand to her face, a smile breaking into her own tired features as she grabbed on tightly to her friend, believing for the first time since LA that everything was going to be alright.

"It's a deal, Aub."


	2. the one where she moved in unannounced

LOVE LIKE THESE

PART ONE – CHAPTER TWO

**THE ONE WHERE SHE MOVED IN UNANNOUNCED**

Bumper wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead as he struggled with the vacuum cleaner. Luke leaned against the doorframe and watched him. He glanced around the room and noticed a spot where Bumper had missed.

"Hey Bump, that spot over there - will you get that?" He hitched his head briefly before returning to his sundae, not noticing Bumper's death glare sent his way.

"Stop eating and get your ass working, you brat." Aubrey threw a rag at her brother as she pushed him away to enter the room. "Bumper, ignore him. How's the vacuuming?"

Bumper smiled and motioned around with an air of smug satisfaction.

Aubrey nodded her approval, "Great, I think she's arriving in another hour so, chop chop guys! Let's finish this up. Jesse?"

"Yeah?" His voice floated from the kitchen.

"What are you doing in the kitchen? You're supposed to be helping Bumper! Luke, for serious, stop eating!" She slapped her brother in the shoulder making him wince in pain and drop his sundae as she walked past him towards the bathroom where she was previously folding the toilet paper ends into japanese triangles. She flicked her left wrist to glance at her watch.

"Okay, guys. Another 25 minutes and she'll be here. I want this room to be squeaky clean in 20." The men muttered a "Yes madam" and resumed their chores.

_An hour later..._

Beca's jaw dropped at the sight of the room. It was more spacious than her old bedroom, complete with a walk-in closet, a huge desk (Aubrey took note to replace the old one to fit Beca's DJ equipment), and a dresser with a sizable mirror. A queen-sized bed sat in a corner; its deep crimson and cream covers beckoned anyone who set their eyes to come over and be submerged in its softness. The sun poured in generously through the large window, lighting up the whole place with its warmth.

"This is... Wow."

"Yeah, the guys have helped."

Beca beamed at the three men who scratched their heads shyly, "Thanks guys! This is so much better than my old room!" Aubrey smiled and started pulling the brunette towards the kitchen.

"Come on, it's dinner time, Mitchell. The last thing you'd want to repay me with is hunger. Chloe's making some awesome aglio oglio and she'd want your word in it."

They entered the kitchen and were immediately met with the aroma of freshly made pasta and olive oil. Chloe was sautéing some prawns with chopped garlic at the stove. She whipped around when she heard footsteps and her face broke into one of the most genuine smiles Beca had ever seen.

"Becs, you're here!" Beca smirked at the nickname.

"Still insisting on Becs, huh?"

"Well, it still sounds pretty badass to me, DJ." The redhead winked, returning her attention to the prawns. The aforementioned brunette felt her face flush at Chloe's words and quickly cleared her throat.

"Err, I'm just gonna- I'm just-" she motioned awkwardly towards the room and quickly made her way out of the kitchen.

"Chloe, you're making her flustered." Aubrey chided, stealing a prawn and tasting it, "And mmm, this is good. I think they're done."

"You think Beca likes prawns? I hope she does." Chloe mumbled, turning off the heat and poured the cooked pasta into the saucer to mix with the prawns. Aubrey, busy setting the table, threw her best friend a pointed look.

"I guess so," the blonde drawled. "I didn't ask. Then again, you're a brilliant cook, Chlo. She'll love anything you make for her."

"Really? Then I'll cook for her every day!" Aubrey smiled and shook her head at the redhead's enthusiasm.

* * *

Beca was setting up her DJ equipment when she heard a knock on her door.

"It's open," she said, not looking up from all of the wires hanging around. She was so engrossed in her setup that she didn't notice a figure coming up behind her.

"So, I heard you DJ?"

The unfamiliar male voice caused Beca to spin around, slightly regretting that she did. Jesse was leaning towards her with his arms rested on the back of the chair where she was seated. They were now inches away from each other's faces and Beca could feel his breath on her face.

"Jesse."

He flashed a goofy grin and peered over at her equipment. He started to reach for one of the dials when she slapped his hand away. He yelped in surprise and held his hand to his chest.

"Don't touch them!" She snapped, looking at the dial as if the mere approach of Jesse's hand has injured the round piece of plastic. When Jesse didn't answer, she turned to look at him. Her heart pang with guilt at his puppy eyes and she mumbled an apology.

"It's okay. It's like how I don't allow Luke or Bumper near my movie collection too so I understand." He sat back on her bed and made himself comfortable.

"Err, Jesse?"

"Yeah?"

Beca motioned to her equipment and shot him a pleading look, "I'm kind of busy here so, mind if we talk later?" He nodded and got up to leave. Before he reached the door, Jesse turned around again. Beca sighed and faced him impatiently.

"Beca," he started, "Join us for our weekly movie nights, will you?"

"What?"

"Our weekly movie nights. It's like a ritual, you'd like it." He grinned, turning to exit the room, leaving Beca with her mouth open.

"Why are you sitting there looking like an idiot?" Her new visitor strolled in next and planted herself on the edge of the bed. Beca frowned, wondering why everyone seemed to like making themselves comfortable on her bed.

"Because Jesse just asked me for movie nights and I'm totally not a movie-person."

Chloe gaped at her words and sat up straight.

"You don't like movies?" The redhead looked as if someone had just ran over a puppy.

"I- I-"

"How can you not like movies! Not liking movies is like not liking ice cream!" Beca raised her shoulders in a non-committal shrug.

"Because they're predictable – the girl gets the guy, the bad guy gets his ass kicked, the broken family gets back together in the end... I just can't sit through one to get to the ending."

"The ending is the best part!"

Beca quirked her eyebrow at the redhead and sighed.

"So, dinner?" She asked hopefully, trying to steer the conversation away before it got more awkward.

Chloe's face lit up at the words and she quickly grabbed Beca's hand, tugging her out of her room.

"Oh yes! I totally forgot about that and to think-" the redhead made huge gestures with her free hand, "-that was my intention when I came to look for you. Come along, the rest are waiting!"

Beca glanced at their linked hands before settling her eyes on those fiery red locks as they made their way to the dining area. The contact of her bare skin against Chloe's sent shivers down her spine and her breath hitched as she watched the redhead dishing out the pasta with one of the happiest smiles plastered on her face.

Beca felt her heart beat fast as she wondered what her moving in would mean for the rest of her time in the city.


	3. the one where she got the job

LOVE LIKE THESE

PART ONE – CHAPTER THREE

**THE ONE WHERE SHE GETS A JOB**

Beca groaned as Aubrey's alarm clock rang throughout the apartment. _I have to get used to this_, she thought, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed as she sat up. A glance at her own clock informed her that it was 6 o'clock in the morning and her whining became louder.

"Aubrey Joann Posen!"

Her half-closed door flew open as the tall blonde dominated its doorway. Aubrey looked wide awake in her purple silk pajamas; her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth covered in foam.

"What?" She queried, pulling out her toothbrush.

"Why are you so loud? It's only 6am!" The small brunette whined as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

Aubrey tsked her new roommate, brandishing her toothbrush. Beca quickly pulled her comforter to her face, trying to avoid the flying foam and spit.

"We have what people called a day job, Mitchell."

Despite her morning daze, Beca cringed, wondering if Aubrey meant anything more behind the seemingly sarcastic answer. The blonde shook her head and returned to the adjacent bathroom to finish up her washing. Beca could hear the water running and the squeaking of the closing and opening of the tap. The house became silent again when Aubrey finally finished her morning routine and returned to her bedroom to get dressed. Beca let out a sigh of relief as she buried her face into the soft pillows, trying to fall back asleep.

She did not have such luck.

After several rounds of playing toss and turn with her bed, Beca gave up. She laid face-up, closing her eyes in an attempt to cheat her body into slumber when she felt the side of her mattress dip. Beca slowly lifted her head to see who the intruder was. A shock of red hair answered her and she felt herself pulled upwards to a sitting position. Chloe cradled her face and shook it slightly.

"Becaaaaaa!" Beca grimaced at the brightness of her voice. "Come join us for breakfast! I've made pancakes!"

Beca shook her head to get rid of Chloe's hands and quickly launched herself under her comforter again.

Sighing, Chloe thought for a moment before her face lit up as if she'd struck eureka. She pushed the comforter away from the small brunette (who protested almost vehemently – if not for the fact that her face was still stuck to her pillow) and grabbed her arms, hoisting them over her shoulders and started making her way to the door.

"Chloe?! Chloe, what are you doing!" Beca yelled, her legs dangling a couple of inches above the ground.

"Helping you to get to breakfast."

"But I'm not hungry!"

"Yes, you are. I can feel your stomach rumbling." Beca's face flushed and she kept quiet as Chloe carried her across the hall into the kitchen where Aubrey was waiting.

"Do you know that every time your stomach rumbles, it's like a mini earthquake in your body and it's not very nice for your health?"

Beca arched her eyebrows as the redhead set her down in a chair before jogging around the table to her place next to Aubrey. She remained standing and started dishing out the pancakes she'd made. The smell of Chloe's breakfast must have roused their neighbors from across the hallway because it took only a few moments before the women's front door flung open and three hungry faces occupied its place.

They stared at the three women seated at the dining table, who looked shocked at the sudden intrusion, and started talking at the same time.

"Do I smell pancakes and scrambled eggs, or is that a figment of my delicious imagination?"

"Chloeeeeee can I have two please? I'll score my first movie for you!"

"My most beautiful ladies! I'll link you up with an one-on-one with Coldplay if you could be so gen-"

"Guys, stop. Chloe's made extra – as usual. You guys can drop this daily chorus and just grab your breakfa-" Aubrey got cut off as Luke reached past her to grab the plate of food the redhead had prepared for them, muttering a thanks as he strode towards his roommates in glee. Aubrey scowled at the retreating figures – Jesse and Bumper high-fiving their blonde friend as they made their way back to their own apartment.

Beca shook her head in amusement and continued to pour maple syrup on her own stack of pancakes. Her smile faltered as a stifling yawn hit her. The brunette reached up to her face and wiped away a stray tear.

"What's with the unhappy face, Mitchell?"

"You tell me, Posen. I woke up to someone else's alarm clock in the dead of the morning, having foam and spit all over my face when I did, and then get manhandled all the way from my bed-" She yawned. "-and to the kitchen."

The two women laughed as Beca groused. She narrowed her eyes at her two roommates and moved to grab the nearest jam bottle.

Chloe looked from Aubrey to Beca and back to her blonde best friend. She nudged the woman and motioned at Beca with a nod. Aubrey eyed her before clearing her throat.

"Beca, we have something to tell you."

Beca paused mid-bite and looked up, worry scribbled all over her face as she braced herself. She'd been staying with them for over a week and Aubrey had questioned her more than once on why she hasn't found a day job. It's not that the blonde was requesting rent – not since the entire apartment belonged to her. It seemed more that taking time to make mixes did not strike the blonde as a legitimate reason for not having a proper paying job. Whilst she certainly did not think the same as Beca's dad, Aubrey still remained pragmatic and had been trying to persuade the brunette to look in the classifieds.

"Yeah?" Beca's voice was apprehensive as she waited for Aubrey to continue.

"I've talked to the director of the school where I teach; you know – _Bellas School of Music_?" Beca nodded. "Well, we've been looking at installing new programs to attract a bigger student base and I've told her about your DJ-ing skills."

Beca felt her eyebrows rise and her eyes well with tears as she listened to Aubrey.

"I've got you a job, Beca. As a teacher. You'll teach a bunch of kids how to DJ and do whatever that is with a turntable-" Beca rolled her eyes good-naturedly as Aubrey tried to imitate scratching a vinyl in mid-air, "- and at the same time, continue making your mixes. The classes are scheduled in such a way that each teacher has breaks in between. These breaks do, however, depend on the popularity of your classes."

"Do you get many breaks then, Posen?"

"Trust me, save for the mandatory lunch hour, I'm packed to the brim." Aubrey smirked.

"Aubrey's really popular with the kids. She's an excellent piano teacher." Chloe beamed at her best friend. "So how about it, Becs?"

"You gon' take the job?"

Beca sighed, debating her options. She did need the money now and it's not like she wouldn't have time to make mixes at all – she wasn't even sure if she would be a good enough teacher to score more than a class of students. Most of all, she couldn't just mooch off of her two friends. Deciding to give it try, she nodded.

"Why not?"

* * *

Beca shook her legs anxiously as she sat in the plush green armchair outside the director's office. Aubrey had been inside for the past hour discussing further details with her boss and had asked the smaller brunette to wait. Chloe had gone for her first vocal lessons of the day and Beca found herself wondering how the redhead would sound when she sang.

"She'd probably sound awesome." Beca smiled dreamily as she pictured the redhead standing in front of her class to demonstrate a song.

"Beca? Beca. Mitchell!" Aubrey snapped her fingers in front of Beca, throwing her train of thoughts off of its tracks. Beca blinked and looked up at the blonde.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"No-Nothing."

"Ms. Posen?" An older lady in a navy blue power suit stood in the office doorway and peered at the two girls over her half-crescent glasses. Her steely blue eyes roamed from the blonde to the brunette before resting on the shorter girl who fidgeted uncomfortably at the scrutiny.

"Yes, Mrs Geller. This is Beca Mitchell whom I've talked to you about."

"I can see that," Mrs Geller answered, taking in the brunette.

Beca was dressed in what she'd thought to be her most formal outfit: a crisp white button-up over a black pair of skinny jeans. Her beat-up red Chucks stood out along with her chunky headphones that rested on her shoulders. Her sleeves were folded up haphazardly to her elbows revealing her watch and leather bracelets. Aubrey has reminded her to keep her make-up to the minimum and Beca did just that. She even chose her black frames over her usual contact lens to look "studious" and "more fitting for school". Both Aubrey and Chloe had a good laugh when they saw the brunette emerge from her room.

Mrs Geller cocked her head and beckoned the girls to follow her into her office. Once she closed the door, she motioned for them to sit while she leaned against her desk – her eyes not leaving the brunette. Beca felt her heart beat faster as the principal studied her like she's a prey ready to be caught and eaten.

"She's scary. And she looks like Prof McGonagall." Beca mouthed to Aubrey who quickly silenced her with a glare.

"Ms Mitchell?"

Beca stuttered a yes, surprised at being addressed suddenly. Aubrey bit the inside of her cheeks to stifle a laugh. The intimidated badass DJ was funnier than she'd thought.

"Aubrey showed me some of your sample tracks and I've listened to them." The older woman reached around for her iPad and pulled up a track to play. Beca's mix of _Halo/Jars of Hearts_ began to fill the entire room. "I liked this one."

"You do?"

"Yes, and I'd like it better if you'd join our institute to teach our students the art of DJ-ing and mixing. What do you think?"

Beca nodded, feeling the tension lift as relief washed over her and the color returned to her pale face. She looked over to Aubrey, who nodded her encouragement with a toothy grin.

"Yeah, I'd like that too."

* * *

Chloe paced the hallway, looking up only to acknowledge a passing student as she became buried deep in her thoughts. The creaking of the opening office door roused her attention and she quickly walked over.

"How was it?" She asked Aubrey, who emerged first from the administrative office. The blonde looked at her forlornly and Chloe felt her heart give way.

"What? But her stuff is so good! How could Mrs Ge- You know what, I'm gonna talk to her." The redhead pushed the blonde aside, ignoring her protests when a second figure appeared in the doorway and Chloe crashed into her.

"Ouch!" Chloe rubbed to soothe her nose while Beca did the same with her forehead. When the pain eased, the redhead removed her hand and saw Beca standing in front of her.

Chloe wasted no time and quickly gathered the brunette into her arms, rubbing her hand up and down the small girl's back as she whispered, "It's okay, Becs. I'll talk to Mrs Geller and if that – God forbid - doesn't work, I'll get Luke to play your tracks on his radio show and Bumper to get his company to hear your stuff, alright?"

She pulled away, holding Beca at arm's length.

"I'll do whatever it takes to help you, okay Becs?"

Beca nodded, throwing a confused look at the sniggering blonde. "Um, Chloe?"

"It's okay, Becs. It's okay to be sad."

"I'm not sad."

It was Chloe's turn to be confused. She looked at Beca properly for the first time since the brunette emerged from the director's office and saw the glee radiating off her face. She narrowed her eyes and turned to her best friend for an explanation. Aubrey held her hands up in defense.

"Hey don't give me that look, Chlo. You didn't give me a chance to explain." She walked around to Beca and placed her hand firmly on her shoulder.

"She got it – she's starting tomorrow."

The squeal from the redhead was all it took to send the two best friends into a bouncing huddle of excitement – their hands linked together as they jumped up and down with joy before turning and sandwiching their brunette friend in the group hug.

In that fleeting moment, a thought flew by Beca's mind and she let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. Maybe – and just maybe, everything was really going to be alright.


	4. the one with the monthly movie night

LOVE LIKE THESE

PART ONE – CHAPTER FOUR

**THE ONE WITH THE MONTHLY MOVIE NIGHT**

"This is Luke Posen signing off with a track from one of my friends, Beca Mitchell. Enjoy, you beautiful people and have an awesome evening!"

A tall brunette strolled into the studio as Luke packed up his things. He looked up and flashed a smile at his co-worker.

"Hey there, Stacie. Great to see you."

"Oh, don't act so surprised, Luke. You know it's always my shift following yours. Broke any girl's heart today?" Luke smirked and shook his head.

"Not till I break yours, babe." He winked and clucked his tongue, slinging his bag over his shoulders as he started to walk out of the studio. He paused and turned around slowly, watching Stacie bob her head to Beca's new track. "You like that?"

Stacie smiled and nodded, "Oh yes, your friend's tracks are good. She should make more. You know what, if she needs a push, I have some contacts." She threw a card at the blonde before sliding a pair of headphones over her head and starting her shift.

Luke let his eyes linger on her for a moment more before turning and exiting the studio.

* * *

"Hey Beca."

The brunette looked up from her book, lying sprawled across the only sofa in the cafe below their apartment block. The friends often met there during their breaks or after work to catch up or for some good coffee. Luke rolled his shoulders to get rid of the tension and planted himself on the armchair next to Beca. He lolled his head back and rested against the back of the furniture while holding out a cardto her.

"What's this?" Beca reached over to grab the card, examining it. Her eyebrows rose as she recognized the name written on it. "Cynthia Rose Parker? Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." Luke answered with a grin on his face. He moved to pat the brunette on her shoulder before getting up to grab his coffee order from the barista.

Beca watched him go and looked back down at the card in her hand. It was yellowed and frayed at the edges but the ink remained clear and bold.

"Call CR when you've got the time. That lady sure knows her stuff." Luke called out, tousling the brunette's hair as he walked past her towards the door. Beca waved him away and gingerly slid the card into her wallet.

* * *

"Okay, anyone wants to hear a funny story?" Bumper asked loudly, announcing his arrival as he plopped himself down on the nearest chair.

It was movie night – the friends' monthly ritual and Beca's first. Everyone had decided that she neededsome sort of initiation to this significant event and Aubrey had made sure that the short brunette's night classes were postponed.

Beca nodded furiously, willing to do anything other than sitting through a 2-hour film. Bumper grinned at her, "Yeah I'll tell you Becs but you won't be able to escape this," he said as he pulled out and waved a dvd at her. Beca pouted and crossed her arms.

The stocky brunette cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair as he walked to stand in the middle of the group.

"Today, I met a girl."

Luke and Jesse exchanged glances and bumped fists with Bumper, "Way to go, big guy! Is she hot?"

Bumper made a face, "Erm, no... not in that way. Anyways so she introduced herself as Fat Amy and I was like, you call yourself Fay Am-"

"Fat Amy? As in Amy Wilson?"

He blinked at Beca. "You know her?"

"Oh my gosh! Is she in town? Did you meet her in town?!" Beca stood up and grabbed him by his arms, shaking him slightly. He nodded.

"What, is she like famous or something? I did not get any memo on that."

"Aub, do you remember Amy Wilson from high school?"

Aubrey scrunched her face as she tried to recall their high school days. Her eyes suddenly widened in recognition of the name and she became as excited as the short brunette.

"Fat Amy! Bumper, did you get her number?"

"What? No! I was at this stand-up comedy show with one of the boys (Bumper likes to refer to the bands under his charge as his boys) and she was just there on the stage talking. I'd figure it was funny to know that some girl actually called herself Fat something..." his voice trailed off, disappointed that his joke has once again fallen through.

"Where is she working at?"

"Err..." Bumper made his way to the fridge to grab a beer, "I was at Club Hyena and she was doing a four o'clock show. As a guest performer actually. I've never seen her before today."

"Oh well, Becs. I guess we'll just have to ambush her at the show then."

"I second that, Posen." Beca bit into her sandwich and almost choked when she felt Chloe slip her arm around hers and rest her head on her shoulder.

"Okay, enough with this Fat Amy person and get on with the movie!" The redhead enthused, leaning further into Beca and made herself comfortable. She didn't notice the blush creeping up the brunette's face as the movie started rolling.

Halfway through the Wes Anderson film, Beca had fallen asleep; her head resting against Chloe's and her chest rising up and down in a steady rhythm. It wasn't long before she felt someone poking at her side.

She slowly opened her eyes and found Jesse sitting close to her. His eyes were fixed on hers as a smile played on the corners of his lips. He nodded towards the television and quirked an eyebrow.

"I told you guys I hate movies." She whispered, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. The rest of the gang were fixated on the film; Chloe'seyes were welled up as she watched the two young actors escape from the chasing adults on the rooftop in the rain.

Jesse made a sad puppy face. "Yeah, well I was hoping to change that. Anyways," he nudged the brunette again, refusing to let her continue her nap, "Do you also hate coffee?"

"What? You've seen me drink two cups every morning, haven't you?"

"I had to ask to make sure." He answered nonchalantly, turning his eyes back to the television screen. "Why's that?"

"Because," he sighed dramatically, "if you hate them, it'll be really hard for me to ask you out on a coffee date." Beca scoffed, not believing what she's just heard.

"Do you do that to all your female students?"

"What, no!" Everyone turned to look at the brunette as he grimaced at the thought of going out with one of his undergrads. He waved them off and turned back to the smirking DJ. "That's disgusting."

"Well, I'm just wondering."

"Just you wait, Beca." He winked, eliciting an eye-roll from the shorter brunette. "I'll charm you over with my ways."

"Oh I'll be waiting, Swanson." Beca simpered jokingly, scooting closer to the redhead next to her as she tightened her arm around the other. She didn't notice the second pair of eyes that watched and saw the interaction. Aubrey felt the wheels in her head turn as she began hatching a plan for her two friends.

* * *

The school bell rang and resounded throughout the school building, gaining a sigh of relief from the DJ.

"Alright, folks. That's all we have for today. Remember to start on that project of yours! I want to hear the first part of the chord progression by the next lesson." She yelled, going around to switch off the computers.

"Busy today?"

Beca spun around and found herself lost in the light blue eyes that were fixated on her navy blue ones. She stuttered out a greeting as she took in the beauty that was Chloe Beale standing in front of her.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself, DJ." The redhead winked. The brunette gulped, watching her friend saunter towards her, weaving around the furniture.

"What are you doing here, Chloe? No class now?"

"It's lunch time, Becs. I've brought something for-"

"Hey Bec-oh hey Chloe!" Beca looked up and did a mental facepalm when she saw Jesse standing in the doorway with a goofy grin plastered all over his face. He quickly made his way to the two women, waving a brown bag as he did.

"I brought lunch! But er, Chloe I'm sorry – I've only enough for both Becs and I."

He cleared his throat and motioned silently to the redhead. Chloe took a moment to realize what he meant and nodded her understanding. She sighed and bid the DJ goodbye, leaving the two brunettes standing in the middle of the classroom.

Beca closed her eyes in annoyance, trying to will the man away. "What do you want, Jesse?"

"Well, I've brought lunch so..."

"I'm not hun-" Beca's stomach growled, causing Jesse's grin to grow wider, "-gry. Fine, I am. What did you bring?"

"Come with me."

* * *

Beca was seated on a blue checkered blanket that Jesse had hitched over the lawn in front of the school. She let her eyes wander around, realizing it was her first time seeing the school like this.

The brown brick institution was surrounded by lush greenery; a lake sat at the foot of the school and its front was flanked by various cliques of students. Some were dancing, some were laughing; some were singing and some were just lying around enjoying the afternoon sun.

Beca found herself smiling at the sight, reminiscing her own college days as a student. Jesse settled down next to her and threw over a juice pouch – breaking her out of her reverie.

"What's this?"

"We've always hung out as a group. I thought that it would be nice to have some one-on-one time." He stole a glance at her before unzipping his bag and taking out a couple of DVDs and his laptop.

"Jesse?"

"Yeah?'

"I think we've established that I really don't like movies."

"Oh I know that, but I just want to see you watch the end of these movies and listen to their soundtracks."

Beca quirked an eyebrow. "Soundtracks?"

"Yeah, that's what I've always wanted to do, you know. Scoring movies."

"But I thought you teach music theory at Barden University?"

"Yeah well, I haven't found a break and a man's gotta feed himself so."

"That sounds familiar." The two friends laughed and settled into a comfortable silence. "Jesse?"

The brunette nodded for Beca to continue as he popped a disc into his laptop. "Jesse, why are you doing this?"

"Beca, either you're dense or you're trying to brush this off."

"I'm listening." Beca pulled her knees towards her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she tilted her head sideways to face the other brunette.

Jesse sighed and his shoulders hung as he adjusted his sitting position so that he faced Beca. He looked down at his hands as he debated his next words.

"Beca, I think you and I both know that I have feelings for you."

Beca remained silent, looking at the man in front of her intently as a blush found its way up his cheeks. He dared a glance at her face and quickly darted his eyes as he continued, "I found you special the minute I laid my eyes on you. Finding out that you're Aubrey's friend is like... God's way of telling me that you are the one and- oh that's a turkey bacon sandwich."

The DJ held up a sub and quirked an eyebrow. Jesse nodded as he reached into the brown bag and fished out another sub, handing it over to her in exchange for the one in her hand. "This one's your favorite – Italian cheese grill."

"Fanks!" Beca mumbled between bites. She motioned with her free hand for him to continue again with the previous conversation.

"Oh right, um. I-"

"So this is what, a courtship?" Beca swallowed the last mouthful and threw the wrapper into the brown bag. Jesse rubbed his hands against his jeans as he nodded nervously.

"Yeah, I guess you can say so. I really like you, Becs."

"I know."

Jesse broke into a smile, believing that he had perhaps finally convinced the girl of his dreams to give him a chance.

"I would really like to ask you out on a date, and-"

"I'm gay."

"-I would totally take movies off the list if that's not- wait, what?"

"Jesse, I'm gay."


	5. the one with the band & the table

PART ONE – CHAPTER FIVE

**THE ONE WITH THE BAND & THE TABLE**

Chloe knocked on the bathroom door and waited. She listened as the tap stopped running and someone jerked open their shower curtain. The door creaked open slowly and a wet mop of brown locks peeked out from the gap.

"Chloe?"

"Hey Becs, just wondering if you have classes today?"

Beca frowned, water dripping from her chin as she tried recalling her schedule. "Er no, I don't have classes today. What's up?"

Chloe's face lit up and she smiled her usual "I'm Chloe, I'm always high and happy" smile. "Great! I'd like to bring you somewhere. Would you come with me?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not? I guess my amazing mixes can wait till tomorrow." The redhead rolled her eyes at the playful tease.

"Alright, I see you later. We'll leave after lunch." Beca nodded, turning to close the door when the redhead yelled over her shoulder.

"Remember to dry that puddle of water! Aubrey hates that – you know it."

"Then I'm keeping it!"

* * *

Aubrey was mixing batter in the kitchen and humming to herself when the telephone rang. She tried to ignore it at first, wanting to get the perfect batter for her cookies but the telephone continued its beg for her attention.

Frustrated, she slammed the wooden spoon and the bowl of gooey mixture atop the table and stalked over to the phone.

"Hello?" She barked into the receiver. The person at the other end of the line seemed to be shocked into silence when she didn't get a greeting in return.

"Hello?" Aubrey tried again; her voice erring on thick annoyance. "Who is this?"

"Aubrey." The blonde's eyes widened.

"Dad?"

"Yes." Awkward silence. Aubrey tapped her fingers against the island's wooden surface impatiently.

"Um, dad?"

"How are you, Aubrey?"

"I'm fine, dad. Thanks."

"Still- still working at that school?" Aubrey could hear the disdain dripping from her father's voice. She sighed.

"Yes, dad. I'm still very much working in that school – which I love." She added for good measure. She could hear an audible sigh and rolled her eyes. Of course her father would do that.

"I still don't understand why you'd give up on your residency for that crummy little place-"

"It's not crummy – it's where my dreams live, dad."

"Here we go again. Aubrey, I didn't pay for your medical school just to have you get your butt kicked out-"

"I quit, dad."

"Over a tiny accident-"

Aubrey squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to compose herself. "It wasn't an accident, dad. I quit. You know I can't do this."

"I didn't know that's a thing that I should know. And I don't like your ton-"

"Hey sissy! Miss me?"

Luke's bright voice rang through the air and broke up the building tension between the father and daughter. He bounced into the kitchen, throwing his bag on the floor as he settled on the bar stool next to the island.

"Oh." His usual carefree expression fell when he saw the receiver in his sister's hand and the scowl on her face that rivalled the Grinch's on Christmas day.

"Dad?" He mouthed silently to Aubrey who nodded gravely. Her father has stopped speaking the moment he heard his son's voice in the background.

"Is that Luke? Give me to him, Aubrey."

"Gladly." Aubrey tossed the receiver to her brother as she turned her attention back to the batter. She rolled her eyes again when she heard the change in tone in her father's voice the moment Luke took over.

"Alright, dad. Yes, she's fine. Why don't you call me on my cell when you want to find me? Alright. I'll have her know. Thanks dad. Yes I love you too. Buh-bye."

Luke hung the receiver back and smirked at his sister.

"I didn't know you mixed batter with a roller, sissy."

Aubrey stopped her movement and followed her brother's gaze downwards. Sure enough – her roller sat snugly in her hand and half-submerged in the goo. Groaning out loud, she threw the bowl into the sink together with the roller and the spoon before leaning back against the island. Her eyes squeezed shut as she began her breathing routine in an effort to calm herself.

Luke reached over and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. He glanced at the telephone and knew that his dad and his sister did not have a good conversation – no matter how brief or long it was. Aubrey lolled her head back and nodded her okay to her big brother.

Luke had always been the prized one in the family amongst the two siblings. He was older than Aubrey by two years and had always been the apple of their father's eyes. The older Posen hardly even held the baby blonde when she was born, choosing instead to play ball with his older child. Aubrey had grown up living in the shadow of her big brother. At first there was much resentment during their teenage years. Fights abound and the parents would take sides. Of course the head of the household would always win the argument and Aubrey would be punished by writing more homework.

She hated her life back at the Posen's and finally managed to escape the suffocating environment when she got accepted into Barden and moved into the dorm with Chloe. Luke went to the same school and did what he loved – media and communications. There was no pressure as to what he should study in college but things were different for Aubrey.

She went into medicine only because John Posen forced her to. Her mother, Annabelle Posen could only help her daughter so much – making hot soup for her during exams and calling her more often than she did Luke. She knew her little Aubrey had suffered from the negligence and the lack of a father-daughter bond in her growing up years. It was these experiences that had crafted the Aubrey her friends knew today – determined and ambitious.

"You alright, baby sis?" Luke patted Aubrey's golden locks, trying to lift any tension leftover from the earlier phone conversation.

Aubrey sighed and nodded her head dolefully.

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

"No, Luke. I'm... Just let me be for a while." With that, the younger blonde abandoned her plans for cookies and retreated to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

* * *

"Okay so, here we are." Chloe huffed and tugged at the metal gate, lifting it up and letting it roll up by itself.

Beca covered her ears at the loud cranking sound of the reclining rollers and bent down to see what was behind the metal partition. She inhaled sharply as she took in the sight - various guitars and basses were sitting comfortably in their stands in one corner, a shiny blue drum set was placed near the back whilst an upright piano in ivory presented itself in the middle of the setup, right next to the mic stand. The redhead walked over to the switches and the lights came on.

"Welcome to my sanctuary, Becs." Chloe beamed as she held out her arm for the small brunette to hold. The latter did and was immediately pulled in the space. They walked arm-in-arm around the instruments, taking in every item slowly before coming to a stop at the front of the setup.

Beca untangled herself and approached the piano, sliding her hand against its smooth reflective top as she turned and sat down on the bench. Her fingers found their places on the black and white keys and she pressed down gently, letting the melodic sounds of the drum striking the taut strings ring across the warehouse. She played some more before coming to a complete stop.

The redhead giggled and clapped her hands in appreciation.

"That's awesome, Becs! When did you learn to play so well?"

"Since I was seven, before..." Her voice drifted off as tears started welling at the corners of her eyes. Chloe was quick to appear right next to her and gently wiped the tears away with her thumb. Beca smiled at the contact and sighed.

"I played to keep her alive in here," she pointed at her heart. "She was the one who taught me the basics and... I just thought if I kept playing she'd always be there to listen; that she wouldn't go."

"But she's always here, Beca. I'm sure your mom loves you."

Beca nodded sadly, raising her own hand to grab the redhead's that was resting on her chest right above where her heart was located.

"Alright, enough sob story." Beca wiped her tears with her free hand and looked at her companion. "What's your story? I mean, what's with all this?"

The redhead let her eyes linger on Beca's for a few more moments before breaking their gaze to stand up. She strolled over to the mic and cleared her throat.

"Hi Beca Mitchell, I'd like to welcome you to my secret haven – the glorious fort behind gates-" she motioned at the gates they'd opened earlier. "-where inspiration flows and sparkles like fireworks. My band, The Vinyl Advice, has our practices here at the fort and it's also where we write our songs."

She paused and walked over to Beca, thrusting a piece of paper at the brunette. Beca looked down and saw that it was a song written by the redhead – there were handwritten lyrics along with some chords indicated. She smiled and mounted her hands over the keys again, looking to the redhead for the signal to start. Chloe nodded with a small smile.

_I knew you before I met you / I fell in love before cupid struck / the hearts of two strangers aligned / their past they didn't mind / but things got in the way / regret, reasons and rhyme / so now I fall asleep every night / without you by my side / by my side_

"Wow..."

"Yeah. That's pretty..."

* * *

"... Great. What have you done, Luke?!" Jesse hollered, glaring at the embarrassed blonde who shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"I..."

"Relax, Jesse. It's just a table. It's already very old and used anyway – we'll just get a new one."

Bumper cut in and placed his arms around the two friends. Jesse was sulking while Luke continued to look embarrassed by what happened. The radio DJ had came home and strolled through the door, flinging his ring of keys onto the table. He didn't realize the impact of the keys hitting the surface of the old table would be enough to send the piece of furniture collapsing onto its side.

When he did not get a response, Bumper shook both men again, rousing their attention. "Okay, let's grow up and go grab an awesome table from that new furniture shop downtown. I need a new chair for my room, anyway."

With that, he steered them around and pushed them out of the apartment.

* * *

Chloe sat down next to Beca on the small piano bench, letting their thighs and knees meet. They revelled in each other's presence as silence took over since their last spoken words. Chloe peered over at the brunette, reaching out her own hand to take hold of her friend's and squeezing it gently.

Beca smiled at the gesture. She suddenly remembered a mash-up she did a few nights ago and quickly placed her fingers on the keys again. She closed her eyes and began to sing.

_So lately, been wondering / who will be there to take my place / when i'm gone, you'd need love / to light the shadows on your face / if a great wave shall fall / and fall upon us all / and between the sand and stone / could you make it on your own / if i could / and i would / i'll go wherever you will go / way up high / or down low / i'll go wherever you will go / i can't stand to fly / i'm not that naive / i'm just out to find / a better part of me / i'm more than a bird / i'm more than a plane / more than some / pretty face / beside a train / and it's not easy / to be me / oceans apart / day after day / and i slowly go insane / i hear your voice / on the line / but it doesn't stop the pain / if i see you next to never / how can we say forever / wherever you go / whatever you do / i will be right here waiting for you / wherever it takes / or how my heart breaks / i will be right here waiting for you / oh oh oh/ oh oh / i've been roaming around / i was looking down / and all i see / painted faces / roaming places where i can't reach / you know that i can use somebody / yeah / you know that i can use somebody / yeah_

Chloe felt her eyes fill with tears as she watched Beca fade off at the end of the song.

"I could feel your eyes burning through the side of my head, you know?"

"That was really great, Beca. I really like it."

"Thanks. You sounded great earlier too." Beca turned and found herself lost again in those light blue eyes. "Why are your eyes so blue, Chlo?" She whispered.

The redhead simply smiled, grabbing Beca's hands and placing them on the keys again.

"Sing me another song."

Beca turned back to the piano and thought hard. Her eyes lit up as she recalled the song she had been using for her mix and started playing. Once again, the melodious sounds filled the air, rolling well with the acoustics of the warehouse. Beca cast one quick glance at her friend before closing her eyes; her own alto voice blending with the music.

_You shout it out loud / but i can't hear a word you say / you're talking loud / not saying much / i'm criticized / but all your bullets ricochet / you shoot me down / but i get up / i'm bulletproof / nothing to lose_

The brunette's eyes shot open as a soprano voice took its place and joined hers in perfect harmony. The two friends turned to look at each other as they continued the chorus.

_Fire away / fire away / ricochet, you take your aim / fire away / fire away / you shoot me down / but i won't fall / i am titanium / shoot me down / but i won't fall / i am titanium_

Chloe leaned forward and rested her forehead against Beca's as she slowly steadied her breathing; both women plunging into comfortable silence once again, breathing together in paired rhythm.

* * *

Bumper walked over to a round table that was big enough for four. He knocked against its surface with his knuckles and looked up at his roommates expectantly.

"This one's made of oak. What do you think, guys? Should we buy this?"

The three of them had been shopping for the past two hours at Franky's Furniture Paradise and had yet to decide on the new furniture. When he didn't get a response again, Bumper sighed.

"Should I use my invisibility for the good of mankind or to achieve my own selfish gains?" Jesse and Luke sniggered as their sandy-haired friend voiced his unhappiness aloud.

"Sorry, Bump. This table looks good but-"

"-we thought that table," Jesse gestured to the one behind Bumper, "looks better." Bumper spun around at his words and his eyes widened at the sight.

"That, my friends, is beautiful."

* * *

Beca reached up and pulled down the rollers. She dusted her hands and took the key from the redhead as she squatted down to lock the gate.

"Thanks, Becs."

"This? This was no problem, red."

"No, I mean for coming here and listening to my songs, and sharing yours. I like this - I like spending time with you."

The brunette smiled and took hold of Chloe's hand, pulling herself up.

"I like spending time with you too. Anyways, Aubrey just texted asking us to come back soon."

"Maybe her cookies are done?"

"I hope so – I'm famished. Come on, red. Let's go home and try those baked goods!" Beca squeezed Chloe's hand as she led the way back to her car. Her heart fluttered as she felt the redhead squeezing her hand back.

"Aaand GOAL! 9 points for me and none for you!" Aubrey pumped her fists and stuck her tongue out at the guys.

Jesse and Bumper grumbled and swapped places – believing this would possibly help with their game. Luke sneered at the switch and held out his hand for a high-five from his sister.

"Feng shui won't help you - you guys are going down." He smirked, grabbing two handles and poising for the next round. His roommates glared at him.

"Your sister is the one winning the game, Luke – not you. You're like a spectator watching the game. Aubrey's the one scoring the goals."

"Ha, I **so** am. And this-" Aubrey twisted and flicked the handle, sending the tiny plastic ball flying towards the goal and scoring the final 10th point for her team. "-Is for laughing at my brother who has been helping me with his passes."

Luke smiled fondly at his sister before fixing his glare at the two men.

"You guys suck."

"Who sucks?" Beca's voice interrupted the impending verbal fight between the men as she and Chloe walked through their apartment door. Her eyes immediately fell on the new furniture and her jaw dropped.

"Is that a foosball table?"

"Yeah, isn't it beautiful?" Jesse grinned and rubbed the side of the table fondly.

Chloe frowned and looked around the apartment. "What happened to your own dining table? Where are you going to eat?"

"Well, thanks to a certain _someone_," Jesse glared at Luke who rolled his eyes. "Our old table is no more. Now, meet Fiona the Fearsome."

"And Fiona the Fearsome is hearing some of our stomachs growl. Anyone up for dinner downstairs at Perks?" Everyone shot their hands up and nodded furiously.

"No cookies, Aub?" The blonde looked taken aback for a moment but she quickly schooled her facial expression, ignoring her brother's concerned look.

"They're kind of ruined, Chlo. But I'll make more soon." The blonde assured, pulling her best friend out of the apartment.

As they walked out of the apartment towards the elevator, Beca suddenly remembered.

"So," she turned to Jesse next to her, "Who lost 0 to 10?"

Jesse's sour face and Aubrey's triumphant fist pump gave the brunette her answer. She smirked and shook her head as she joined her friends in the elevator.

"You guys really suck."


	6. the one with the boyfriend

LOVE LIKE THESE

PART ONE – CHAPTER SIX

**THE ONE WITH THE BOYFRIEND**

"Hello, this is Bennett Allen – can I help you?"

"Bumper? This is David. You're the manager for The Treblemakers, right?" Bumper frowned, wondering how the caller has gotten his number.

"Yes, this is their manager speaking. May I know the purpose of your call?"

The sandy-haired man could hear David smirking against the phone as the latter continued, "I have a charity show here in Chicago and we'd like to invite The Treblemakers to come and perform. It'll be a three-day event two weeks from now and there'll be thousands of people. It's actually an arts festival along with charities for the disabled. Ah, we know it's a little last minute but we'd really love if The Treblemakers could come and support us."

Bumper reached over his desk for his calendar. He traced the dates with his finger before stopping at the day Jon had slated to be the start of the charity concert. He smiled and held the phone to his ear again.

"Well, we do have an empty slot those three days – we can do it. I'll inform the boys; just email me the exact details. I'll call you in a few after talking to them."

He could hear the glee from the opposite end of the receiver and some sort of celebratory commotion in the background.

"That's really great! I'll email you the details now. I'm a big fan so I can't wait to see you all. Thanks, Bumper!"

"No problem, buddy." Bumper smiled and hung up. He peered over at his calendar again and found his eyebrows creasing into a frown when he saw a particular date on the calendar. Sighing, he turned his attention back to his laptop, wondering who else would remember that date as he did.

Or almost forgot. He cringed as memories from that day flooded his mind and he shook his head vehemently to rid of them.

* * *

"So."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jesse looked over to Beca who was nestled snugly in the opposite corner of their couch with her laptop on her lap. He grunted a response as he kept his eyes fixed on the television screen. It was the last episode of _Fringe_ and he refused to let anything or anyone interrupt him.

Without purpose.

"I've been wondering if... it's okay to date a friend?"

The question made the man shoot up in his seat and pause the show. Throwing the remote control onto the coffee table, he quickly turned to face the brunette squarely and held on to her calves for support. Beca scoffed lightly at his reaction and placed her laptop aside.

"Who? Spill it, Becs. Spill everything."

Beca shrugged, avoiding eye contact with Jesse. "I'm not sure about it entirely, but I just thought I could perhaps give it a try?"

"Like, test the waters or something?" Beca nodded. "But who is it? Do I know her?"

Jesse's eyes grew wider at Beca's silence. "Oh my gosh! I know her!"

"Shh! I'll end you if you leak anything from this conversation, Swanson!"

"Oh my gosh, this is so exciting." Jesse fluttered his hands animatedly. "As your lesbro and BFF, I believe I have the exclusive rights to know who this mystery girl is."

Beca chuckled at his use of the nicknames; she recalled vividly their awkward conversation from the other day at the school grounds.

"_What?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean that I am completely and utterly homosexual, which also means that I go for Ps that end with Y instead of Ps that end with S."_

_Jesse giggled for a moment but changed his demeanor when he saw the serious look on her porcelain face._

"_Mmm. Lovely," he frowned slightly. "Well done."_

Jesse nudged his best friend, stirring her from her thoughts. "So, is it Aubrey?" Beca made a face; his eyes grew wide again.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Beca, for serious. _Chloe?!"_

Beca blushed and nodded slightly. Jesse's shock grew into a wide, toothy smile as he tried to recall the two women's interaction. He remembered something and smacked his forehead. "Shoot."

"What?"

"Did I interrupt something that day? When I asked you for lunch?"

Beca's curt nod and glare gave him his answer and the brunette flushed with guilt and embarrassment. "That's... I'm sorry, Becs. I-"

"-It's fine. I'm glad we went through that though. This-" she gestured between the two of them. "-probably wouldn't have happened this soon if that conversation did not take place."

Jesse smiled and pulled her into a side hug. "You know it. So, Chloe huh? Good choice. When are you going to ask her out?"

"I'm thinking tomorrow."

_Meanwhile..._

Luke sighed and drank from his bottle as the camera crew adjusted the lighting and the reflectors. He placed his bottle into his bag and walked over to the photographer. "Hey, Sarah."

A woman with wide eyes and brown frizzy hair spun around and smiled. "Hey, my handsome model. How's everything so far? Got your much needed water break?"

Luke scratched his stubble and nodded, "Yeah, those lights are making things really hot around here. And I'm not even fully clothed." He said, gesturing to his naked torso. The makeup artist had covered his torso with a layer of liquid paraffin, making it shine and accenting his perfectly-sculpted abs.

Sarah smirked and shook her head. "You're overly confident, my friend. So how are things going on? Your job at the station and with your sister?"

"Nothing much. Job is the same old..." His voice trailed off as he remembered Stacie sitting there in the DJ chair wearing the pair of headphones and talking animatedly on the microphone to her listeners.

"You've met a girl, haven't you?"

"What?"

"Don't give me the bull. This girl's got your attention. That has never happened before, Luke."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Sarah. I'm heading back. Let's get this over and done with, shall we?" The blonde flushed and quickly made his way back to the green screen.

* * *

Aubrey and Chloe were sitting in their usual spot on the big sofa in the cafe; papers with sketches and scribbles surrounding them as they sipped from their lattes and macchiatos.

"This is hard."

"I can't believe he's turning 30."

"I wonder what he'd like for his present."

"We're all turning 30."

"Maybe he'd want that collarless jacket? Or maybe some aviators?"

"We're getting old! So old! Such tragedy! Oh."

"I've contacted Mr Treeger regarding the rooftop terrace and he said yes! So, one item down."

"Such a tragedy, not a comedy, I can see those lines, cracking down my vines... Hmm that doesn't sound bad, let me write that down."

"Now all we have to do is settle the menu and the invite list. Chloe? Chloe. Chloe Alexandra Beale!"

Chloe paused mid-sentence and looked over at her best friend. She grimaced and gingerly tucked her pencil behind her ear as she prepared herself for Aubrey's lecture.

"Chloe, we're talking about one of our best friends' birthday party! Why are you writing songs?"

"Because," Chloe replied, waving her lyric-filled paper at the blonde, "you have to write your inspirations down or they'll disappear like this!" She snapped her fingers. Aubrey rolled her eyes playfully.

"Let's just get back to this, shall we?"

"Hey beautiful people!" Jesse suavely placed his arms around the two women and planted a kiss on their cheeks. "What are we up to?"

Beca appeared next to him and looked extremely nervous. Jesse nudged her and nodded his encouragement.

"Well, we are – actually _I am_ - planning Bumper's 30th birthday bash whilst our good friend here-" she motioned at Chloe, who was once again lost in her lyric-writing, "-is writing some bizarre new song."

The shorter brunette looked over the redhead's shoulders to read what she had written. "Those are pretty good, red." Beca glanced over at Jesse who urged her with his eyes. "Um, Chloe?"

"Yeah?" The redhead asked without looking up.

"Would you like to.. Erm... Would you..."

"Would I what, Becs?"

Aubrey turned her head to see what was making the brunette stumble over her sentence. When she saw the blush on her cheeks, she smirked. _I knew it,_ she thought. The blonde was about to make a remark when her smirk faltered; her eyes fixed on the new figure standing in the cafe's doorway.

"Would you like to... Like to go on a d-"

"Chloe!"

"Mike!"

"Mike?" Beca and Jesse said together, their eyes following Chloe as she ran towards the man who was also making his way towards her.

The two crashed in a bone-crushing embrace and – to Beca's utter horror - the redhead pulled the man's face towards hers, latching her lips onto his.

* * *

"Hey, you okay there?"

Aubrey set her beer bottle on the parapet and puffed out a breath from her mouth, watching the hot exhale mix with the cool air surrounding them. Beca nodded numbly, her navy blue eyes mulling across the skyline that was blanketed by the black velvet sky.

"Did you know about Mike?"

The blonde shook her head. "Apparently Chloe is quite tight-lipped about this one. I'm sorry, Becs."

"You knew, didn't you?"

"If you're talking about yourself then, yes. It's obvious."

Beca chuckled and sighed. She inhaled the cool air and let it fill her grieving lungs, closing her eyes as the fresh night air hit her senses. "What should I do, Aub?"

"Chloe... I'm not sure about Mike but... Don't give up, Mitchell." Aubrey wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

"Don't give up."

_A while later..._

Aubrey had left the brooding brunette behind after she failed to lift her mood. Climbing back into the apartment through the window, she heard the happy commotion and walked right over to the kitchen to see what it was all about. Upon reaching it, her eyes fell on Mike. Her eyebrows creased slightly as she observed this man whom Chloe had never mentioned to her before.

Chloe. Her _best_ friend.

"Chloe, a word?" She motioned with a hitch of her thumb towards her room.

The redhead turned to look at her and nodded. "I'm sorry, Mike. I'll be right back." She said with a smile, tip-toeing to kiss her boyfriend on the lips before breaking away from his arms.

"Aubrey, what's up?"

"Chloe, why didn't you tell me?"

Chloe's smile faltered and she stared at the floor, looking slightly embarrassed and guilty. "I... Well, because I wasn't sure. I wanted to wait until I was sure."

"So now you're sure he's the one?"

"Aubrey, that's not fair. Mike just returned from service and both of us didn't expect him to be back in the country so early." The redhead walked towards her friend and took her hand into her own.

"Bree..." The blonde felt her heart melt slightly at the affectionate nickname Chloe's reserved for times like this. "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

Aubrey looked intently into those light blue eyes and pursed her lips. "Are you very sure he's the one?"

Chloe exhaled slowly before nodding. The blonde observed that her nod was small and slight, unlike her usual affirming ones. She arched her eyebrows but remained silent.

_Meanwhile..._

Bumper squeezed his way through the window and sat down next to the brunette with his back against the parapet. He tucked his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them; a beer bottle dangling in his hand as he nonchalantly swung it around, swirling its contents. Beca looked down at him and nodded a greeting.

He nodded back in kind and slowly drank from his bottle. The two friends stayed in silence like that – his arm lightly touching the side of her knees; their rhythmic breathing being loud enough to hear against the quiet backdrop of the city suburb at midnight.

"Tough day, my friend?"

No answer. He nodded.

"I know we're not exactly close but," he shifted and nudged her with his shoulder, "just so you know – I'm right here. Even if I'm the last person, I'll be right here, Becs. My ears." He pointed and flapped his right ear to prove his point.

"Thanks Bumper."

"Hey, hey, hey! Is that a smile I see on your pretty face?" He smirked, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Beca's smile grew wider and she chuckled softly. "You know, this time last year, I wasn't even sure that I could possibly survive in this city. Right now, I know. I just know that... I can."

Bumper raised his bottle to salute her words and drank.

"This place has the best view of L.A. I just wish it was darker so that we could see those stars above..."

Bumper looked up into the sky as Beca's voice trailed off. He shuddered slightly and quickly returned his gaze to his bottle. Beca noticed and frowned. She turned and slid down onto the floor next to the man, grabbing his bottle from his hand in the process.

She took a swig from the bottle and grimaced. "Yuck, this is bad. Why would you guys like this?"

Bumper laughed and grabbed his bottle back. "This is called a real man's beer, Beca. No girls allowed." He said, waving his finger in her face.

"Seriously Bumper, the view is great."

"I know. They've told me."

"They? You mean you haven't seen it yourself? But you've lived here for the past five years!"

"Yeah, they did."

Beca nodded and motioned for him to continue with wide eyes; her curiosity peaking.

Bumper licked his lips and worried the lower one. He exhaled and took another drink before replying.

"I'm afraid of heights, Beca. It's nothing to be particularly proud of, I guess." He made a face and returned to his drink, finishing it.

Beca jaw opened slightly.

"You're what? But you're here, talking to me."

He nodded, placing his bottle down on the floor and wiped the condensation on his jeans.

"Bumper..."

He smiled warmly and patted her shoulders. "I'm just checking on you, Becs."

He stood up slowly before grabbing tightly to the parapet, making his way back to the open window. Beca watched his retreating figure, feeling a sense of warmth hitting her in the core at his words.

_I'm afraid of heights, Beca._


	7. the one with the secret tears

PART ONE – CHAPTER SEVEN

**THE ONE WITH THE SECRET TEARS**

_One, two, three, four, five_. Aubrey exhaled through her mouth and placed the weights down by her feet. She sat upright on the bench and wiped her perspiration off the sides of her head. She then retrieved her water bottle and took a swig, letting the cool liquid slide down her throat and she hummed with contentment.

"Looking good there, Aub."

The blonde spun around in her bench and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw a short brunette smirking at her. She cluck her tongue in mild annoyance and placed her hands on her hips. Cocking her head, she uttered a short greeting before turning back to her weights.

"Someone doesn't look too happy to see me. Expecting some tall, suave and handsome man?"

Aubrey scoffed and ignored the brunette, lifting the weights with her eyes locked on herself through the mirror. Beca sat herself down on the same bench next to the blonde, grimacing when she felt her shorts get damp from the perspiration left there.

"You're disgusting! Don't you use a towel?"

Aubrey rested her arms and turned to glare at her friend. She glanced down to see where Beca was seated and snorted. "I do, I'm sitting on it. This bench was wet before I came."

Beca's eyes widened and she shot up from the bench. She reached behind wanting to dust her backside but stopped midway when she realized that her hands would be dirtied too with some stranger's fatigue. She groaned and stormed off to the changing room, leaving a sniggering blonde behind.

/

"Hey Bump, where are you headed this time?" Luke strolled into the brunette's room and sat down on his bed, munching on an apple.

"Chicago. Some charity show that I've linked the boys up with." Bumper replied, rolling his shirts and stuffing them into a vacuum bag. "Tell me, does this shirt say _Good evening ladies, can I buy you a drink?_ or does it say _I'm an idiot for trying to talk to you?_"

Luke, his mouth full of mushed apple, lifted two fingers and nodded.

"Pfft. Alright, not packing this one." He tossed the shirt aside and made to grab a pair of jeans.

"How long are you gone?"

Bumper shrugged, tucking another pair of jeans into his backpack. "About... a weekend? But the boys wanted to visit the place after the gig so I may be following them."

"Aww. I'll miss you." Luke cooed, biting halfway into his apple when a piece of fabric landed on his face. He shook his head and picked up the said fabric; his eyes widened in shock and disgust.

Bumper chuckled quietly, retrieving his underwear from Luke and tucking it into another vacuum bag. "I'll be back Monday. So how are you and that brunette colleague of yours?"

Luke choked and looked slightly flabbergasted. "What, why are you all on to that?"

"Concerned, I guess? I mean, for how long are you going to continue your womanizing days, Luke?"

The blonde shrugged, refusing to answer his question. Bumper sighed before freezing. He turned to face the DJ squarely.

"Wait a minute, I hardly see any girl coming out of your room these past two months..."

"So?"

"Something has changed..." Bumper circled the blonde, examining him and knocking on his head lightly. "Hello, is our Luke in there?"

"Hey, stop that."

"Is it because of her?"

"What?"

"I just realized that you have stopped going to those strip clubs and bars, and you wake up in the mornings without your infamous hangovers and sex breaths. This is-" Bumper took a quick glance at the clock, "-shoots I'm late. I'm not leaving this conversation like this, Luke. When I'm back we'll have a proper talk."

He quickly zipped his backpack, locking it up. He wagged his index finger at the blonde again and headed out of his room.

/

"La, la, la, oh such a tragedy, not a comedy, we are growing old oh oh. It's a misery, life's a parody of our favorite show oh oh.." Chloe sang and bounced around the kitchen as she prepared the ingredients for Bumper's birthday cake. She looked up when she heard the door slam from across the hallway. Moments later, their front door opened and Jesse's head appeared behind the wooden panel.

"Hi Jesse." She piped, grinning happily at her friend. He returned the smile in kind.

"Hey there, my favorite ginger. What's all this?"

"Bumper's birthday cake... the ingredients. I'm thinking-" she hovered her hands over the bowls containing sugar, flour, milk and eggs, "-we can make it a fireworks cake."

Jesse raised his eyebrows and leaned against the island. "Fireworks cake?"

The redhead nodded furiously and opened a drawer to reveal a bunch of long, colorful candles that were shaped conspicuously like fire crackers.

Jesse blinked and bit down on his lower lip. "Are we celebrating the day of his birth or are we killing him, Chlo?" He asked with a playful glint in his eyes.

Chloe rolled her own and scoffed, "Celebrating of course!"

Jesse nodded, walking over to the fridge to fetch himself a bottle of juice. Opening the cap, he cast a quick glance at the calendar. "Chloe, why are you making the cake so early?"

"Isn't his birthday this weekend?"

"Err, no. It's Monday and that's when he'll be back, actually."

Chloe dropped the bowl in her hand and it landed on the island top with a thud.

"What. No way. He's leaving? When? Where? Why?!"

Jesse shook his head. "He left," he corrected, "He's gone to Chicago with the Treblemakers for a gig and they'll be back next Monday."

She sighed and sat down on the bar stool. She motioned to her bowl of cake dough and cast Jesse her puppy eyes.

"Chloe, drop those eyes. You know I can't-" the redhead blinked harder to make her eyes appear more glossy, "-ugh fine. Why don't we make a cake for Aubrey then? She's looking pretty broody these few days. We can even make them together!"

Chloe lit up at his words and immediately got to work. She threw an apron at the brunette and grabbed a spatula.

"Let's make Aubrey the best BE HAPPY cake ever!"

_She never change, not since college days._ Jesse thought, smiling as he joined the redhead and her crazy baking antics.

/

"You're disgusting." Beca repeated, scowling at the blonde as she emerged from the shower. Aubrey rolled her eyes and sat down with her friend on the bench drying her hair.

"Said the one who sat in someone else's sweat pool." Beca made a face.

"So, what are you going to do about Chloe?"

"Nothing. Nothing I can do anyway. She has Mike and I have... a pair of dirty shorts. I'm going to burn it."

"I'll help you."

"Really? Great. Do we have a burner at home?"

"I mean Chloe. I'll help you with Chloe."

"Just leave it, Aub."

"I'm serious."

"I'm serious, too. Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go grab lunch and..." Beca picked up the offensive pair of shorts, "buy a burner." She bent down to grab her bag and proceeded to walk out of the changing room, not noticing the blonde's gaze as she wondered where she could possibly buy a burner.

"Those two idiots..." Aubrey muttered under her breath, tossing her towel over her shoulders and grabbed her own bag, joining the brunette at the entrance of the gym.

She rounded her yellow BMW Z4 and flung her bag onto the backseat. Beca appeared at the passenger door, waiting for her to unlock the car.

"So where should we eat?" Beca asked as she climbed into the passenger seat, belting up.

"I think-" the sound of _I dream a dream _pierced through the air around them, cutting her off. The blonde dug her jeans pocket for her phone, retrieving it. "Sorry, I've got to take this."

She climbed out of the car and leaned against the metallic surface. "Aubrey Posen."

"Hey sissy." Aubrey cocked her eyebrows as she took in the worry that laced thickly in her brother's voice.

"Luke? What's up?"

"It's... It's dad."

/

The sounds of heels clicking against the marble flooring echoed in the sterile corridor. Her eyes flitting between door numbers frantically as she tried to locate the right room. A door opened in a distance on the left and light from the room flooded the dim corridor. Aubrey narrowed her eyes and squinted as a blonde man emerged from the room into the pool of light. He turned and his eyes widened at the sight of his sister.

"Aubrey!"

"Luke!" The shorter blonde ran over to where he was and lunged herself into his embrace, sniffling.

"Aubrey, you should see him."

"Is he okay? What did the doctor say? Where's mom?"

"Mom's right inside. He's okay for now, out of danger at least. The doctors are keeping him here for observation. He just went through a three-hour long surgery, sis."

Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes as she took in his words. She nodded and moved to enter the ward. Once inside, she let her eyes adjust to the light and gasped when she saw her father. The older Posen, with IV drips and tubes going in and out of his skin, looked frail and pale.

"Oh, Aubrey. You made it."

Aubrey walked over to her mom and fell into her arms, clinging onto her tightly. "Mom, I'm so sorry."

Annabelle pulled away to have a better look at her daughter. She brushed away the younger woman's blonde locks, using her thumbs to wipe away her tears that had broken loose and were now streaming down her cheeks.

"It's not your fault, baby," she whispered. "He hasn't been feeling well recently. We all didn't expect the attack. I mean, he's taken up some exercises ever since the diagnosis and-"

"I should have spent more time with him." Luke said quietly, standing near the door. His head hung low and his nose red and aching from all the crying earlier.

Annabelle shook her head sadly and gently guided her daughter towards her husband. She patted on the empty space at the foot of the bed and motioned for her to sit. Aubrey did as told.

"I'm heading out with Luke to buy some food. Would you want anything, baby?" Aubrey shook her head, her eyes not leaving her dad's sleeping face.

"Very well, we'll be back soon. Come on, Luke."

After the door had closed completely, Aubrey reached up to wipe away her tears. She hardened her expression as she stared at her father.

"How could you?" She whispered. "How could you treat me like that my whole life and then do this to me? What do you want from me?" She gritted her teeth and squared her jaw, ignoring the tears that had once again broken free.

"If you're so great, why couldn't you take care of yourself? You've always scolded me for all the junk food I've sneaked into my room to eat. You're not doing what you have told me to do; you're not keeping yourself healthy! You're such a hypocrite!" Her voice now louder and echoed in the room.

The blonde squeezed her eyes shut and began her breathing routine, failing to notice the door opening slightly - revealing a short brunette. Beca quietly entered the room and closed the door. She looked around and found a small chair in a corner where she quickly took a seat.

Aubrey opened her eyes again to look at her father. She reached out her hand and caressed his face, feeling his wrinkles under her fingertips as another fresh wave of tears overwhelmed her, blurring her vision. She blinked to rid of them and sighed.

"You... You're the man I hate to love, and loved to hate. Why are you my father, John? Why are you making this so difficult for me?" Her words shook Beca to the core and she gripped the edge of the chair.

"You better get up and be well again because I'm going to show you my worth. You've never loved me, and you've always..." She swallowed thickly and brushed away her tears, "You've always..."

Beca felt tears welling in her own eyes as she took in her words. Her heart throbbing as she felt Aubrey's pain and heartache.

The blonde had planted herself on her father's chest, lying across with her head on his shoulder; her tears forming a growing wet spot on his hospital gown. She could feel his breathing – shallow and haggling. She closed her eyes to listen to his heartbeat, wondering when was the last time she'd done that. A haunting realization dawned upon her and she tensed.

She'd never done that before.

Beca blinked back her tears and slowly got up to leave the room. She felt suffocated as memories of her own flooded her mind and she hurriedly close the door behind her to head towards the nearest washroom.

"I love you daddy. Please get well."

Aubrey's voice a mere whisper, loud enough for both the father and daughter to hear. She slowly drifted off to sleep, not realizing an arm had snaked over her waist, securing her in an awkward embrace. His own tears flowing as he lifted his head slightly to look at his only daughter.

"I love you, Aubrey, I do. I love you."


	8. the one with the promotion

PART ONE – CHAPTER EIGHT

**THE ONE WITH THE PROMOTION**

Luke hummed and sang softly to himself as he dragged and dropped Swedish House Mania's _Don't You Worry Child_ into the folder.

_Hold on hold tight / Make it through another night / & everyday there comes a song with the dawn _

He scrolled through the list again and made sure that everything was in check. Quirking his lips into a crooked smile, he pulled the microphone over and cleared his throat, pressing down a red button.

"Alright folks, that's _Breathe In Breathe Out_ by Mat Kearney. An emotional song, even for a macho man like me." He cluck his tongue and winked at nobody. "That song is dedicated to my dad, John Posen who is currently in the hospital, and I pray him a speedy recovery." He paused as tears started welling.

He sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his forearm, "Love you dad. Anyways, coming right up I have some awesome playlist for you beautiful people. For those who are rushing home to your family, I wish you a good evening ahead and may these songs bring smiles to your faces as you fight the LA traffic. This is Luke Posen signing off."

He released the button and heaved a sigh of relief. Lifting his arms, the blonde stretched and yawned loudly, not realizing that he's not alone in the booth.

"Such a charmer as always, Luke." Stacie bit down on her lower lip as she tried hard not to laugh.

Luke flushed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh hey, there, Stacie."

"Hi yourself. So, tiring shift huh?"

"Tiring days, you mean. Dad's in hospital."

Concern washed over her face as the brunette took in the news. Her smiling demeanor suddenly turned stern and serious as she approached him and held him by his shoulders. Stacie gave him a small smile as she squatted down in front of him; their eyes poring into each other.

"Hey, I'm sorry to hear that. Is he alright?"

"Better than day 1, I'd say. My mom's there with Aubrey."

Stacie nodded, noticing the redness around his eyes as he recounted the incident to her. A knock on the door caught their attention and both of them stood up.

"Luke, Stacie." The station manager greeted curtly, narrowing his eyes at the duo suspiciously.

"Peter." They both greeted back in kind.

"Mr O'Hare would like to see the both of you. In his office." When both DJs made no attempt to move, he rolled his eyes and added impatiently, "now."

_Few minutes later..._

"Luke, Stacie, first of all – well done on your shows. Each of you has splendidly exhibited your talents to lead an engaging radio show and listeners have called in to compliment you guys. None of the calls so far are complaints so – really well done."

The two DJs beamed at their boss's words, exchanging encouraging glances at each other as they awaited further instructions. Mr O'Hare then peered down at the stack of documents placed on his table and he motioned to them.

"As you know, your contracts are rounding up soon – especially yours, Luke. Now, I don't want you guys to stop and leave, of course." He cleared his throat and picked up one of the documents, releasing it from its clip. The broad, gray-haired man then passed a piece of paper to each DJ.

"A joint show?" Stacie's eyebrows rose above her hairline as she finished reading the document. Luke mirrored her expression and both of them stared at their boss.

"Yeah, we have requests from the audience and they'd really like to see you two host a show together. It'll be fun. Every morning during rush hour."

"That's one of the premium slots, boss." Luke piped up, his eyes perusing the document again.

"Of course. You two are my golden radio hosts, of course I'd give you guys the golden spot."

"But what happens to Adam and his show?"

"I'm moving that bummer to the graveyard shift; he's more complaints than... wait he has no compliments at all, that fella." Luke smirked, relishing in that piece of news. Adam had always been biased against the blonde since the latter started work at the station, and Luke was glad that he's finally getting what he deserved.

"So when are we starting?" The blonde asked before Stacie could protest. The brunette turned to glare at him, annoyed that he's not helping his fellow colleague.

"As soon as the two of you come up with a decent proposal about how this show would be run. Actually, you know what – I'd give you two weeks. At the end of two weeks, both of you are going live."

Stacie was relentless, "Sir, how about our own shows? Do we get to-"

"You can keep them. Which meant that you two will have your own shows on top of this partnership. What do you say, Stacie?" Mr O'Hare peered at the brunette through his thick glasses.

Stacie pondered and mulled for a moment before nodding.

"Great!" Mr O'Hare smiled broadly and rose to shake both their hands. "By the way, this is a promotion so cheer up, Stacie. This is a cause for celebration!" Both DJs nodded; Luke smiling brightly while Stacie pursed her lips in deep thought.

* * *

"To Luke!" Jesse hollered, raising his glass of champagne. The rest joined him and glasses collided and clunk. The gang had decided that a celebratory dinner was due the moment Luke mass-texted them the news. They met up at Club Hyena where Jesse had made reservations.

"Congrats, big guy." Chloe beamed brightly at the blonde, placing a chaste kiss on his left cheek. Beca quickly averted her eyes, trying to squash away the mounting sour feeling inside of her.

"So, what would we expect from your new show?" Jesse asked through mouthfuls of pasta, trying to divert the attention away and keep his best friend from feeling miserable.

Luke frowned slightly, suddenly recalling his conversation with Stacie after their meeting with Mr O'Hare. He shrugged and downed his glass, reaching out to pour some more.

"You don't know yet?"

"Hey, it's not that I don't have ideas. It's just that," he downed another glass of champagne before reaching out to the bottle. Beca quickly grabbed it out of his reach and hugged the glass. He quirked an eyebrow at her and shook his head.

"Luke, what's wrong?"

* * *

_Stacie walked back to the booth and closed the door before Luke could catch up with her. He sighed and knocked lightly on the glass, gesturing for her to look at him. She scowled and mouthed, "What?!"_

"_Can we talk?" He yelled, pointing at the door._

"_Ugh."_

"_Finally. What's wrong? Did I do something?"_

_"Yeah you did."_

"_What?" Luke looked confused, taking a seat next to the brunette._

"_You didn't help Adam!"_

"_Hey, he didn't lose his job okay? You heard the boss – that man's a bummer."_

"_So? Aren't we supposed to defend him?"_

"_Defend him?" The blonde felt his anger boiling and rising up his gut. "Who defended me from him when he badmouthed me to Mr O'Hare at every given opportunity? He even did that in front of me."_

_He rose and walked across the booth to take a seat on the floor opposite his co-host. His breathing rapid as memories of Adam bullying him in his earlier days flooded his mind. He closed his eyes and did the same breathing routine his sister had taught him when they spent time together at the hospital._

"_Luke..." Stacie's voice now softer as she studied the man. "Luke, I'm sorry... I didn't know.."_

"_He's a jerk, okay? You know what, I just wanted to talk to you and ask you about the show. I guess we could do that next time." He got up and left the booth without another word – not even a glance back at his favorite brunette._

* * *

Beca and Jesse remained silent as Luke finished his account. She had loosened her grip on the champagne bottle and the blonde quickly grabbed the opportunity to pour himself another glass. Aubrey scooted closer to her brother and rested her head on his broad shoulder.

"Sorry to hear that, Luke." Chloe whispered, her hand gripping Mike's. The latter quickly wrapped his arm around the redhead and rubbed circles around her back as she buried her head into the crook of his neck.

Beca turned to face Jesse who wore a similar grim expression on his face. "We shouldn't have invited her," she mouthed.

"I know." He mouthed back, "but we didn't kno- Oh shoots."

"What?"

Jesse merely motioned with a hitch of his head in the direction where a busty brunette stood. Her eyes panned across the restaurant and she smiled shyly when she spied the table of friends – including a tipsy Luke. The blonde man spotted her immediately and frowned. He looked around the table and saw the guilty faces that were Jesse and Beca.

"You called her?!" He asked angrily.

"Sorry dude, we didn't know that story."

"Doesn't mean you call her!"

"Hey guys." Stacie greeted cheerfully, taking a seat next to Luke as Chloe scooted closer to her boyfriend. The blonde man remained stiff as the rest of his friends greeted back. He kept his eyes ahead and his jaw tightened, trying to will away the brunette next to him. Aubrey noticed and slapped his thigh lightly.

"Be nice." She whispered into his ear, before smiling at Stacie. "Hey Stacie, look – help me take care of my older brother, will you? I need to return to the hospital."

"Sure thing. You must be Aubrey." The brunette stretched out her hand across Luke's front; her arm hovering a couple of inches away from his face. His sister took it and shook it firmly.

"Yes I am. Alright guys, I'll see you all later. Stacie, it's nice meeting you. I hope-" she cast a quick glance at her brother, "-to see you soon again. Can't wait to listen to your new show!" Stacie's smile faltered a little but she managed to school it back and grinned broadly at the blonde.

Chloe watched her best friend leave the restaurant and yawned. Mike was quick to grab her glass of water and gently handed it to her.

"Here you go, baby. Drink some water. Do you want to go home?" He asked.

Chloe pulled his wrist over to check his watch. "Yeah, it's getting late. Could you send me home, Mike?" She pouted.

"Of course, babe." The man smiled before turning to face the rest of the table. "Alright guys, we have to scoot. I've an earlier flight to catch tomorrow so I'd better head back too. Congrats again, you guys." He did a gun-pointed gesture with his fingers and cluck his tongue. Beca rolled her eyes and downed her own glass.

The marine saluted his goodbye to the friends and held on to the redhead as he led her home. Beca watched the couple leave, a scowl present on her face. Jesse nudged her and shook his head.

"Don't worry, Beca. You'll find a better one."

Beca shrugged and turned her focus on Luke who was on his way to Tipsyville. Stacie took a sip of her glass and looked straight at the shorter brunette.

"Beca."

The brunette looked slightly shocked at having been addressed suddenly. She cleared her throat and nodded.

"I love your mixes. Luke has mentioned you several times before. My honor to have finally met you in person." She beamed as a blush crept up Beca's cheeks.

"I passed him CR's card the other day, did you get it?" The shorter brunette nodded with a grateful smile. "Great! Do drop her a call soon, okay? Her company is looking for new talent and I believe you're the one she's missing out on."

"Thanks. I'm just trying to come up with a couple more mixes before I call her and show her. Your show is awesome too. I tune in whenever I could and my students always rave to me about them."

It was Stacie's turn to blush as she tucked her dark brown locks behind her ear. She cast a sideways glance at her colleague and sighed. Luke hadn't acknowledged her since she had arrived. Jesse and Beca threw glances at each other and nodded. The brunette man cleared his throat and pushed his empty plate away.

"Hey guys, we'd love to stay for the show later," he motioned at the stage near their table, "but Becs and I are heading off to have some BFF time."

"BFF?"

"Yes!" Jesse flashed his goofy grin as he wrapped his arm around the brunette. "We're best friends and I'm going to show her how awesome that scene is in Lion King where baby Simba got lifted up in the air." He mimicked the cartoon baboon character, lifting up his own bag, ignoring the stares from the diners around them.

"Jesse, let's just go and stop embarrassing me." Beca pulled the animated brunette away and pushed him roughly out the door.

Stacie turned back to the blonde next to her and nudged him.

"What?"

"I thought you wanted to talk about the show with me."

His eyes widened and he sat upright. "Really? You'd do it? Willingly?"

The brunette chuckled and nodded. "Yes, willingly. Unless..." She changed her expression and stared at him sternly. "You no longer want to."

"Of course I'd want to. Okay, I have this bunch of ideas..." His voice got lost in her thoughts as Stacie stared into those ocean blue eyes that sparkled whenever he talked about music and the ideas he had.

* * *

"You what? You left him with her? You sure that's a good idea, Becs?"

"It's an excellent idea, Posen."

The blonde sighed and peered into the ward through the gap in the doorway. "Alright, but I'm holding you accountable for anything that may happen, Mitchell."

"Okay."

"Look, I've to go. Mom's crying again. See you at home, short-stack."

_The next morning..._

Luke yawned and stretched his back, extending his hands as high as he could towards the ceiling. He licked his lips to rid of the dryness and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. A glance at the clock told him that it was only 7 in the morning. Grumbling about the sun, he flung his legs over the edge of the bed and shuffled over to the window. He squinted his eyes at the offensive sunlight and pulled the curtains together.

"Frigging sun." He muttered, turning back towards his bed.

He was a step away from the furniture when he froze.

His eyes traveled down his own body and he gaped at the lack of clothing. _Oh bugger, who did I bring home last night?!_ He thought, searching around for his boxers. When he finally found it, he quickly put it on – pausing when the other person hidden under the blanket started to wake and stir. He slowly turned around; his heart pounding at a thousand miles an hour.

"Please don't be a dude. Please don't be a dude." He prayed under his breath.

It took them a while before they pushed the blanket away, revealing their face. Luke dropped his jaw at the sight.

His sleeping partner saw him and mirrored his expression.

"Luke."

"Stacie..."


	9. the one with the break up & the reunion

LOVE LIKE THESE

PART ONE CHAPTER NINE

**THE ONE WITH THE BREAK UP & THE REUNION**

Beca nestled on her bed; her knees bent and balancing her Macbook. Her chunky headphones were clasped over her head and she licked her upper lip as she manipulated the tempo of the songs to match each other. Fingers hovering over the trackpad, the brunette smiled as she finally finished the last mix of the day.

Music started to fill the air as she played back her mix, leaning back into her pillow and letting her knees rest. She sighed with contentment as the two melodies collided in perfect harmony, birthing a whole new song that carried her trademark. As the song faded off, Beca fetched a flashdrive from her laptop sleeve lying nearby and plugged it into the notebook.

"Hey you."

Beca looked up from the screen and her heart skipped a few beats. She quickly saved her work into the flashdrive and then closed the lid, chucking her headphones and notebook aside.

"Hey."

Chloe smiled sweetly and proceeded to sit down on her bed, right next to the brunette. She placed her hand on the DJ's thigh and rubbed it in a soothing manner. Beca worried her lower lip, hoping that the redhead would not hear her accelerating heartbeat. She cleared her throat, ignoring the tingling sensation the redhead's touch had brought her.

"What's up, red?"

"Beca... Are you free? Want to grab coffee with me?"

"Now?"

The redhead nodded. Beca stared into those light blue eyes of hers, finding herself getting lost again. Before she could go further, the brunette shook her head, ridding those thoughts. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Chlo. Trying to finish this mix so that I can show it to Cynthia Rose when I see her later in the evening..." her voice trailed off the moment she saw the smile fade from Chloe's face. "Are you alright?"

Chloe struggled to school her expression and managed a tight smile. "Yeah I'm fine," she said, waving her hand to dismiss Beca's concern. "You should totally do this mix thing of yours and let Cynthia Rose know what a great DJ you are!"

"You sure?" Beca turned back to her Macbook before checking her watch. She still had four hours to burn before her interview with the famous producer. _What are you doing, you spool head. Chloe Beale is asking you out! You should only say yes. Yes, you idiot._

"Yes."

Chloe returned a blank look. "Yes?"

Beca blinked and gestured wildly, "I mean, yeah sure. I- This- I-"

Chloe giggled and grabbed her flailing arms. "Hey, chill." Beca took a deep breath, dropping her eyes while her cheeks burnt with embarrassment. _Well, that went well, Mitchell._

"Now speak."

Beca chanced a glance into those light blue eyes and swallowed. "I mean, I'm almost done with the mix actually and-"

"Really? Can I get a listen?" Chloe's previously sad demeanor was cast away, replaced by her usual cheeriness.

She reached over to the notebook before Beca could protest. The brunette watched helplessly as the redhead opened the lid and pressed replay. She was about to drop a mental note to herself about setting passwords when she realized that she did not mind the redhead touching her stuff at all.

_This is weird._ She thought.

Chloe's smile grew into a wide grin as the same melody filled the room. She passed the notebook to the brunette and stood up, walking over to the middle of the room in front of the bed and started dancing. She swayed her hips from left to right and back, thrusting both her arms in the air in the forward motion, hitting each beat perfectly. Her head bobbed up and down as she moved; her fiery red locks flying about as she danced to Beca's song.

"Becs! This is so awesome! You are **so** going to blow Cynthia Rose's mind. I bet my entire life on it." Chloe shouted, smiling brightly at the brunette. Beca felt her own lips curl and mirrored that of Chloe's as the redhead bounced over to grab her hand. "Join me, Mitchell!"

Beca started off feeling extremely awkward; her legs stomping around as she tried to imitate the redhead. Chloe noticed and shook her head.

"Dance your own way, silly!"

Beca didn't know where the courage came from, but with those words, she threw every care and caution into the wind and shook her body freely – her arms flailing and her legs kicking everywhere. The two danced like that until the song transited into the next mix. This time, it was a slower song and the two finally stopped their "dance" to catch their breaths.

"Woah, I've never danced like th-" Chloe cut off the brunette as she pulled her closer to herself; her left hand resting on Beca's waist while her right hand gently clasped over the DJ's.

The duo could feel their breaths against each other's faces as the redhead guided them to waltz along to the rhythm of the song.

"What song is this?" Beca looked up and locked eyes with her roommate.

"Try Diamonds."

Chloe smiled coyly and leaned forward as they hit the chorus again and sang into the DJ's ear, "_so shine bright / tonight / you and I / we're beautiful like diamonds in the sky / eye to eye / so alive / we're beautiful like diamonds in the sky"_

Her husky voice sent shivers down Beca's spine and she felt goosebumps harvesting all over her skin. She let out a shaky breath and smiled shyly. They held each other and whirled around in circles till the song faded into the background. Their eyes still locked onto each other and the DJ found it nearly impossible to break that spell the redhead had officially cast over her.

_What are you doing to me, Chlo?_

"Ahem." Aubrey's voice rang through the air and broke that spell. Beca blinked.

"Hey Bree! Check out our resident DJ's newest mix. I. Dig. It." Chloe emphasized the last three words with what she thought was gangster swag, gesturing around and crossing her forearms.

"Alright _gangsta gal_, I need you in the living room now."

"Why?" Beca and Chloe asked together.

"Mike's on the phone."

The squeal that came after was so shrill both Aubrey and Beca had to cover their ears. Beca watched as the redhead rushed out of the room; their coffee date all forgotten.

"Hey Mickey baby! I miss you so, so much!" The brunette rolled her eyes as the redhead's voice continued to ring throughout the apartment.

"I'm going to Perks." She mumbled, grabbing her headphones and notebook as she headed towards her door.

"I'm coming with you. We need to talk."

Beca stopped in her tracks and turned around. "What, did I do something? That tone of yours, Posen, does not bode well to my ears."

Aubrey glared at her with such ferocity that Beca could almost see white smoke coming out from her nostrils. The DJ gulped and took a step backward from the blonde.

"Yes Mitchell – it will not bode well for you."

"Ugh."

"It's Luke and Stacie."

* * *

_Luke continued to gape at the very naked brunette in front of him. While he might have had dreamed certain things, he did not expect it to happen – at all. Stacie rolled her eyes and covered herself with the sheets. She motioned for the blonde to cover his mouth and wipe his drool; Luke did as such before scratching the back of his head feeling embarrassed._

"_What happened last night?" He asked meekly, looking down at his feet._

_When he did not get an immediate answer, Luke flitted his eyes to the brunette's and gulped; he knew that instant he had overstepped the line._

"_I- I- I mean I **know** what happened," he stuttered, trying to backtrack, gesturing frantically between the two of them, "bu- but- but I mean ha- ha- how did we-"_

"_-we got drunk. That's it." Stacie cut him off and slowly got up from the bed._

"_That's it?" He asked, quickly averting his eyes and looking upwards at the ceiling as his co-worker gathered her clothes from around the room. Her panties were hanging off the lampshade standing in a corner, her jeans atop his desk and her blouse under the bed. It took a while before she finished getting dressed. Luke relaxed, fixing his gaze on the brunette once again._

"_Yeah, that's it. We got drunk and we slept together - that's it." Stacie said as a matter of factly. She glanced at her watch and gasped. "I've got to go; I'm late for my appointment."_

"_Don't you want some breakfast first?" Luke asked again weakly._

_The brunette shook her head. "No, thank you. See you later at the station, Luke!" Her back almost disappeared around the wooden door when she turned back again._

"_And oh," she winked, "you're pretty good, Posen."_

* * *

"Isn't that a good thing?" Beca asked, earning herself a slap around the back of her head.

"No! You shouldn't have left him alone with her. Now look what you've done!"

"Me? Hello, I'm not the one with the dick and sleeping with that gorgeous woman, okay? And besides," She retorted, rubbing the back of head, "Jesse was with me on this. I don't see you hitting him and lecturing him, Posen."

"Jesse Swanson is already cleaning all our toilets for a month. Now, back to you." She thrust a finger at the DJ's chest, punctuating every word with a poke.

"What do you want me to do – clean your room?"

"No!" The blonde groaned, "and don't you ever come near my room. I want you guys to not hurt my brother. Stacie is the only girl he has ever paid attention to and-"

"-and I still don't see how this is a problem." The DJ crossed her arms in front of her chest feeling indignant.

"The sex. Didn't you listen? She just dumped him like that and it's like... It's like..."

"It's like what Luke used to do to all the other women he's ever bedded."

"That's very blunt, Mitchell."

"But oh so true." Aubrey sighed. She knew of her brother's womanizing ways and now she wondered if karma was coming round to bite him in his butt.

_But then again, there isn't such a thing as karma._ She thought, frowning to herself.

"Earth to Posen, Earth to Posen. Aubrey!"

"What should we do, Beca?"

The shorter woman shrugged and turned to leave the apartment again. "Let him mourn for a couple days, woman." She said loudly over her shoulders, turning slightly to look at the disgruntled blonde as she opened the front door.

"Let him learn..." Her voice trailed off as the door closed firmly with a click behind her.

"Let him learn _what_?" Aubrey grumbled under her breath, turning back to an animated redhead. She watched as her best friend's smile start to falter, replaced with a growing frown that the blonde knew meant trouble.

"What do you mean? Oh you're such a... Her voice is right in the receiver! Don't you dare lie to me, Michael J. Peterson. Are you sure you're there serving our nation? I bet you're doing another kind of service, mister. What's that noise? There're two of them?! Yes I can. Of course I can say your full name. No, that's not the point, Michael. You have two women – both not Chloe Beale - next to you. I can smell your sex from here. Yes I can! No, you know what - I'm not talking to you anymore, you asshole. Have fun in Santorini with your Greek goddesses and never come back! Good riddance!"

Chloe slammed the receiver down with such force it broke into two. Aubrey flinched at the anger and quickly made her way to the crumbling redhead. She gathered her best friend into her arms and rubbed soothing circles around her back. Chloe immediately reached back and removed those hands, choosing to wrap them around her shoulders instead.

"That son of a gun loved to do those circle rubbing to me." She whimpered, burying her tear-streaked face into Aubrey's shoulder. The blonde nodded and pulled the redhead upwards, making her sit down on the couch next to her.

"I'm sorry, Chlo..."

The redhead shook her head, letting her tears flow freely. The two friends remained silent as they took comfort in each other's presence.

* * *

"This is really good, Beca." Cynthia Rose grinned, baring her pearly whites.

The producer removed Beca's headphones, placing them carefully on the table before looking up at the DJ. Beca fidgeted nervously in her seat, playing with her fingernails as she awaited Cynthia Rose's critique.

"So, did you like it?" She asked meekly.

"Yes, of course! I love it, in fact. Both Luke and Stacie sure know their recommendations." The pink-haired woman pipped, grabbing her glass of cola. She took a long drink before setting the bottle back down on the table. "They're right. You are someone I have looked all over for."

Beca's face broke into a genuine smile for the first time since she arrived at Club Hyena. The producer beamed and continued.

"Yeah, you're whom I'm looking for, alright. Tell you what, come to my office tomorrow morning and we'll look through the contract."

"Contract?" Cynthia Rose nodded, retrieving her cellphone and punching in a few numbers.

"Samson? It's CR here. Yes, I need you to come to my office tomorrow morning at 8. Bring along your computer – we need to type out a contract. Yes, I've found her. You'll love her too. Alright, thanks. See you."

She switched off the device and chucked it carelessly into her handbag before turning back to the brunette. "That's my lawyer. We'll put you on a two-year contract – that means at least 2 albums, my friend. You'll come and work at my studio..."

Her voice trailed off as she took in Beca's shocked expression. "...or you can work at your own place... Beca, are you alright? You look really pale."

The brunette quickly regained her composure and smiled confidently, "Ye- Yea I'm okay. Just a little overwhelmed." She laughed, mentally facepalming herself for looking like an idiot earlier.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow at 9 at my office. We'll have the contract ready then." Cynthia Rose leaned back into her chair, happy that her search for a new artiste was over.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is this our badass Beca Mitchell?" A loud and heavily accented voice boomed behind them and both women turned to greet the intruder.

"Fat Amy!"

"Oh my gosh, it's really you, pint size! I was just trying my luck earlier. Look how you've **not** grown!" Beca slapped her friend lightly on the arm before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Fat Amy! Aubrey and I have been wanting to come here and see you. We heard that you perform here-"

"-as their best comedic act ever!" Fat Amy grinned, pointing at the stage. "That's my workplace. I'm here to test waters and see if I could survive in the American market. Turns out," she cast a look at Cynthia Rose, "they loved me! So now they've put me on the regular shift."

"That's great news! I'll tell Posen when I get home later."

"Home? You guys living together? You aren't married to each other, are you?"

Beca rolled her eyes and motioned for them to sit. "'Course not. We're roommates. Anyways, Aubrey would be so thrilled to see you again."

Fat Amy held up her hand, "Hold on a sec', you said something about you hearing about me. Who did you hear it from?"

"Oh, Bumper. Bumper Allen. He's Aubrey's and mine's friend. He stays across the hallway."

"Bumper Allen? As in Bennett Allen? The manager from Atlantic Records?" Cynthia Rose chipped in, grabbing a piece of french fry and popping it into her mouth.

Beca nodded. "Yes that's Bumper. You know him?"

"Oh he's famous. But I haven't worked with any of his bands before."

"Who's this guy? Doesn't ring a bell." Fat Amy chipped in with a slight frown, fishing a fry for herself. She and Cynthia Rose nodded a quick greeting at each other.

Beca had a sudden thought and smirked.

"Oh, I'll introduce you guys. I think you two will hit it off quite well." She quipped, whipping out her cellphone and passing it to the blonde. "Give me your number and we'll meet for a proper drink soon!"

"Sure thing, pint size." Fat Amy made a grab for the device. "She's really small back in high school," she explained, addressing the slight look for confusion on the producer's face.

Cynthia Rose smirked, getting up to leave for home, "Alright then, see you tomorrow, pint size."

"I'm **so** not digging the nickname."


	10. the one with her jar of hearts

PART ONE CHAPTER TEN

**THE ONE WITH HER JAR OF HEARTS**

Jesse tapped his foot against the parquet flooring as he waited for the girls to decide on their purchase. Aubrey and Chloe stood a distance away, talking animatedly while holding up a pair of Raybans, waving it precariously around to the horror of the salesperson. His deep-set brown eyes fixed on the blonde who wore an amused expression on her face as she discussed the cons of getting Bumper the pair of aviators. The redhead herself was convinced that their sandy-hair friend should get a pair of _Clubmasters_ instead.

"So, we should go for the _Clubmasters_ instead?"

"Yeah, totes. I think it matches his face shape the best."

"Alright then." The tall blonde turned to the salesperson who had gratefully retrieved the pair of aviators from the girls. "Hi, can we take a look at all your _Clubmasters_ for men please?"

Jesse smiled as the color drained from the poor man's face. Beca bumped shoulders with him as she took a seat next to him on the bench. The brunette saw the juice pouch in her hands and made a grab at it, ignoring her protests.

"I'm thirsty."

"It's been an hour. What's taking them so long?" Beca whined, flicking her wrist to check her watch.

"Apparently his 30th birthday is a big thing to them."

Beca was not convinced. "It's Chloe's first time planning a party, isn't it?"

The brunette's loud snort gave her the answer and she shook her head. "No wonder."

"She's begged Aubrey for the past six months. Our favorite blondie finally gave up half the reins to her best friend. It's a monumental moment for Chloe – believe you me."

"She must have cried buckets."

"Not really. She did made us loads of good food for that whole week. Bumper was wondering what made her so happy; he'd thought she has broken up with Mike."

Beca arched her eyebrows and she spun around to face her best friend. "Mike?"

"Yeah, their relationship wasn't the best you know? With Mike away on long trips and communication not being easily accessible..."

"How come you didn't tell me?" Jesse shrugged.

Beca turned back and watched the two girls squeal with glee as they finally decided unanimously on a pair of shades for their friend. Her heart plummeted as she recalled meeting Mike for the first time and she shook her head to push that scene to the back of her head.

Over at the counter, Aubrey chanced a glance at Beca and noticed the sad, wistful look. _I'll talk to her later._ She thought, turning back just in time to see Chloe flirting with a dashing salesperson.

"Seriously, Chlo?" She asked as they left the cashier after having paid for the shades.

"What?" Chloe asked innocently, bouncing over to join her friends at the bench. "Hey guys!" She pipped, moving to wrap her arms around Beca's waist and resting her head on her shoulder. Beca immediately flushed at the contact, finding herself unable to move as she relished the redhead's touch.

Both Jesse and Aubrey eyed the two before casting a knowing look at each other.

"Let's go grocery shopping! I still need some ingredients for the party on Monday." The redhead announced, breaking contact with the brunette and pulling out a piece of scrap paper from her back pocket. Jesse shook his head.

"Sorry ladies, I've to head back to the university for a bit. The headmaster wanted to see me."

"On a Saturday?"

He nodded, shooting an apologetic look at the blonde who scoffed. The brunette waved his goodbye and headed for his car. Beca turned back to the girls. "Okay, let's go to the supermarket."

* * *

"One more step, Mitchell!"

"Shut up, Posen!"

"Girls, quit fighting!" Chloe scolded, opening their door and shuffling into the apartment.

Beca glared at the blonde before taking the last step into the house. Aubrey rolled her eyes. "You are so dramatic, Mitchell. You're not even carrying that many bags and we took the elevator."

"Yeah but it's still two bags of chicken wings and ten steps from the elevator to the house." Beca panted, throwing the grocery bags onto the island counter top before sinking into a chair.

Chloe giggled and threw a water bottle at the brunette. Beca caught it and muttered thanks, drinking the water in huge gulps. The redhead then got down to business, emptying the bags and placing the stuff into the cupboards and fridge. Aubrey picked up Beca's bags of wings and poured the contents into the sink, wanting to clean them. Chloe stopped her.

"Hey, I'll do it."

"But it's a hundred wings, Chlo."

The redhead cast her a playful look when the doorbell rang. She winked at her best friend and hopped over to the door. Beca got up and walked over to stand beside Aubrey.

"Are we expecting guests?"

"No, Mitchell," she replied, surprise taking over her features as she took in the sight of a redheaded man standing in their doorway; Chloe's arms wrapped round his neck.

"Hey guys, meet Jamie!" Chloe called over her shoulder. The aforementioned man waved a hi with a toothy grin; his red hair matching that of Chloe's.

"I think I'm going to faint." Beca whispered; the blonde immediately held and squeezed her arm.

"Don't worry." She mouthed, trying to comfort the brunette who seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"He's my date – we're going out later." Chloe cooed, having pulled the man over to the kitchen where the two friends stood. "But for now, he's helping me with the food prep."

"How did you two meet?" Aubrey asked, her eyes fixed on the man who was gaping at the number of chicken wings.

"Oh we met at my cooking class." The redhead quipped, not looking up from her chores. "Jamie, dear, you just marinate those wings in this sauce."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. _Of course they'd met at her cooking classes._ She thought, peering over at the brunette who retreated to her room quietly. She turned back to the couple just in time to see Chloe plant a kiss on his cheeks. Making a mental note to have a proper talk with the redhead later, the blonde excused herself to join Beca in her room. When she opened the door, she found the shorter girl curled up in the blankets with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey..."

Beca remained silent; her eyes staring ahead into the empty space. Aubrey sighed and sat down next to her, throwing her hand on her back and started rubbing them. After a long while, Beca finally spoke up.

"Isn't she with Mike?" She croaked weakly, her throat dry from all the crying.

_She didn't know._ The realization finally dawned on Aubrey.

"They broke up two days ago."

Beca's eyes shot wide open and she sat up so fast, Aubrey was sure she heard bones crack.

"Broke up?"

"Yeah, when Mike called the other day."

"And this Jamie person – do you know him?" Aubrey shook her head. "So what, Chloe's been two-timing?" Aubrey shook her head again.

"No, she has cooking classes over at the community centre every Saturday morning..." her voice trailed off as she felt the anger radiating off the brunette.

Beca was red from her neck up and she glared at the door. "So she just hooks up with some guy right after she broke it off with Mike?"

The blonde nodded slowly this time, not wanting to add any fuel to fire.

"I can't believe her! You know what, I need some time alone."

"Beca-"

"Just leave me alone, Aubrey. Please." Beca's anger reducing to a whine as she curled into her blankets once again. Aubrey sighed, getting up and moving to help the brunette remove her sneakers and tossing them aside.

She quietly closed Beca's door and went back to the kitchen. She rolled her eyes again when she saw Jamie feeding Chloe some soup he'd made. Chloe closed her eyes in contentment and hummed.

"That tastes really awesome! Gordon Ramsay would give you his thumbs-up, bro." Aubrey arched her eyebrows.

_Bro? As in brother? Who calls their date, bro?_ She thought. She quietly stood in a corner, observing the two redheads work in the kitchen. Besides a few touches on the arms here and there with some pats on the shoulders, the two did not look like they're dating. In fact, if the blonde had her way, she'd think that Jamie was gay.

_Who wears neon green skinny jeans with a tight pink polo shirt?_

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"A word please." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"I'm busy now, Aub. Can't this wait?" She turned and immediately regretted her words. "Fine, I'll come with you. Geez, stop with the glare."

* * *

_Clink!_

The sounds of glasses colliding with each other resonated in the limousine. Bumper smiled as he sat back against the plush black seats and watched his boys celebrate the success of their gig.

"Boys, boys. It's only day two – one more to go and we'll head home." He announced, motioning to the five young men seated around him.

"Bump, did you see how excited and pumped the crowd was earlier? They loved us!" A bespectacled, dark haired man gushed as he passed a plate of cut fruits around his bandmates.

"Yeah they did. I bet tomorrow night will be equally amazing." A muscular man with huge afro chimed in, picking up two slices of apples from the plate as it passed him.

Bumper nodded, looking over his boys. The Treblemakers was one of the finest bands under his care and he couldn't have been more proud. He wasn't sure when he met them two years ago – all of them fresh-faced and eager, looking up to him to bring their music to another level. Bumper had been careful to make sure that fame did not get into their heads and their egos – and his hard work paid off. Their clean-cut image and their soulful voices gave their three albums platinum statuses within two weeks of release. Each and every one of the boys loved the man and they respected him deeply.

He was still in deep thoughts when the sound of someone calling his name roused him around. He jerked his head upwards in time to see all five of them raising their glasses at him.

"To Bumper Allen." The same bespectacled man said loudly, a charming smile plastered across his face.

"To the greatest manager and the best friend anyone could ask for." Another man with pale skin who wore his baseball cap backwards quipped.

Bumper took a quick last glance around and raised his own glass.

"And here's to our friendship and everything else for many years to come."

* * *

Chloe planted herself on her bed as she waited for Aubrey to start her speech. The blonde paced around in front of her, wondering how to begin the whole conversation. Chloe arched her eyebrows and exhaled.

"Bree, I don't have the whole day. I still have Bumper's party and our dinner tonight to prepare."

"I know, Chloe. I just... It's Beca."

The redhead sat up straight at the mention of the brunette's name. "What, is anything wrong?"

"Nothing... Not exactly. Chloe, what's the deal with all the flirting and-" the blonde gestured around, "Jamie?"

"Flirting? I'm not flirting. What are you talking about?"

"I saw you flirting with that salesman back in the eyewear shop! And then when you brought Jamie back – whom, by the way, I swear is so gay! Didn't you just break up with Mike?"

Chloe looked utterly confused. She opened her mouth to speak but before she had a chance to, Aubrey cut her off.

"You know, Chlo. As your best friend, I feel like I have the duty to stop you from this self-destructing manner. Breaking up with that asshole was the best decision you've made, Chlo. But to flirt around and get with other guys – is that what you really want?"

"Woah, woah, hold it right there, Posen. Let me speak." Chloe felt frustration and anger rising up her gut as she took in her best friend's words. "What's up with you?"

"What's up with me? I mean, look at Beca – she's all upset and-"

"Beca? What's this have to do with Beca? Seriously, what's going on?"

Aubrey opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say without giving the brunette's feelings away. Chloe rolled her eyes at her silence.

"Aubrey. We have been best friends since what, freshmen back at Barden? That thing back at the shop was a friendly chat – you should know what my 'flirting' is like." The blonde felt herself flush with guilt at Chloe's words.

"I am definitely not flirting around and yes I totally agree with you that Mike is an asshole but that doesn't mean I go for rebounds. Aubrey, I don't ever do rebounds, okay?"

"But what about Jamie?" The blonde tried again, breaking eye contact with the redhead.

Chloe's heart softened when she heard the guilt-laced voice. She sighed and ran her fingers through her auburn locks. "Aubrey, you are right – Jamie's gay."

"But you said he's your date-"

"What, I can't go on a date with my gay best friend? Gays are so fun to hang out with! Jamie just bought a new sound system and he wanted me to check it out before giving it to his boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

Chloe nodded, "Yeah. He got his favorite Bose system and he wrote this song for him and since I'm in a band, he wanted me to critique it before playing it in front of James on his birthday next week."

"I see."

"No, Aubrey. **Now** you see."

The blonde nodded sheepishly, embarrassed to know that she had dived into conclusions. She sat down at her dresser, trying to collect her thoughts while the redhead slowly got up to leave. Chloe almost left the room when Aubrey called out to her.

"Hey wait. What about Beca?"

Another wave of confusion washed over Chloe's face as she froze in her steps. "What about her?"

"Do you feel... Do you-"

"Feel what?"

"How do you find Beca?"

Chloe turned around to face her best friend squarely. She pursed her lips as she thought about her answer.

"Besides the fact that she twirls her hair that falls off during the shower into tiny clumps on the bathroom wall, she's pretty cool. I mean, she does all those mixes which are amazing. And she's cute."

"Cute?"

"Yeah, cute like I could keep her as a pet under my bed, cute."

"So no other feelings?"

Chloe shook her head, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "No... What feelings should I be having?"

_Oh gosh, this will take so long._ Aubrey thought as she shook her head at the redhead. "Nothing. Never mind."

"So are we done here? Because I don't want to ditch Jamie alone back in the kitchen when I'm the one who asked him to help with the food prep."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Alright. We'll talk more later, Bree." The blonde nodded, rubbing her temples. Chloe smiled gratefully, walking out of the room.

Aubrey went to lie down on her bed, closing her eyes to will away the headache that was mounting. After a long while, she felt her stomach growl and she lifted her head at the open door.

"Chloe," she yelled, hoping not to wake up the brunette who was sleeping next door, "what are we having for dinner?"

The redhead appeared at the door and whispered, "Shush. Beca's sleeping."

"I know. So what are we having? I'm famished." Aubrey whined, eliciting a giggle from the redhead.

"Smoked duck and mushroom linguine." she said, "Beca's favorite."


	11. the one with the sailor song

PART ONE CHAPTER ELEVEN

**THE ONE WITH THE SAILOR SONG**

"What ad are these for, again?" Beca asked, flipping through a stack of photographs. Her eyes grew wide at a particular one where Luke was only covered by a discreet placement of some woman's hands.

"Leah Victoria." The blonde answered noncommittally, fumbling with the remote control and surfing through channels.

The gang – save for Bumper - was hanging out at the men's apartment after dinner; they'd agree to take a short break from the preparation for the party. Aubrey had only relented when all four of them gave her their best puppy eyes and their whining had overwhelmed her orders.

"LV? Isn't that a clothing brand?" Chloe quirked an eyebrow, looking up at the man himself. Luke nodded again.

"But you're naked in all of them. Where are the clothes?" Jesse chimed in, his hands going over his own flabs and feeling slightly jealous of his blonde roommate.

Luke sighed and dropped the remote control, turning to face the interrogators that were his friends. They leaned forward, eager to hear his explanation.

"It's their summer concept – something like emperor's new clothes. Light and comfortable in your own skin is their new slogan, I think." He muttered, rolling his eyes when his friends roared in laughter.

"Emperor's new clothes! Geez, that's really corny of LV, don't you think?" Chloe said between laughs, wiping tears off from her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want. They pay well, if you ask me."

Aubrey returned to the living room from the washroom and arched her eyebrows at the bunch of human hyenas in front of her. She motioned for her brother to follow her.

"What's up?"

"Could you pick up Dad from the hospital? He's ready to be discharged but he wants it to be tonight."

"The old man can't stand the place anymore, huh?" Aubrey nodded. "Why don't you go with me?"

"Luke. You know how the two of us work – we can't stand each other; he can't stand me. I don't want him to risk another heart attack."

Her brother looked confused, "Haven't you been visiting him? Surely he's seen you already."

"I only visit when he's asleep." She mumbled, averting eye contact with her big brother. Luke sighed.

"Aubrey, you can't do this forever. He's your dad too. He loves yo-"

"-You don't know that."

"Why don't you find out yourself?" Luke gently placed his hand on Aubrey's shoulder and shook her. "Come on, I know you'd want to see him safely home too. Mom would be happy to see you."

"But I have classes tomo-"

"-Aubrey." His voice carried such finality that the blonde knew she had no chance of rebuttal. She nodded and moved to retrieve her handbag.

"Guys, we're heading off to pick up my dad. After this," she gestured at the photographs, "make sure you guys go back upstairs to finish up."

"Yes, madam..." the three friends chorused unhappily as they watched the Posen siblings leave the apartment.

* * *

The crowd went wild as the boys emerged from behind the red curtain. Lights went off and blinded them as they posed for the cameras. Interviewers jumped at them, throwing questions that ranged from relatable to totally irrelevant (like what hair color are you going for next?). The boys smiled their way through, answering only appropriate questions like their manager had told them to.

Bumper stood nearby; his arms crossed in front of him as he observed his charges. The last performance was epic and it brought the whole house down. Two encores were made and still the audience did not seem satisfied.

"How do you feel about performing for a charity, Donald?" A frizzy-haired woman with buggy eyes yelled over the crowd, thrusting her recorder at the bespectacled member.

"Hey, Jason!" A male reporter wearing gray pinstripe suit asked, making a grab at the member who wore the baseball cap, "Did the charity pay you guys?"

A loud whistle disrupted the Q&A and everyone turned to look at Bumper, who had made his way to stand between his band and the horde of paparazzi. He glared at the reporters before turning back to his boys.

"Guys, head back and get washed. I'll see you guys in the lobby in fifteen." The Treblemakers nodded, scrambling off as fast as they could from the hungry reporters.

Bumper slowly turned back to the horde and closed his eyes, willing them away. The same man with the gray pinstripe approached the manager first.

"Hey Bumper, great to see you. So, how much dough did you guys make out of this seemingly non-profit show?"

The stocky man cracked at that question and he tore open his eyes to glare at the man. "How dare you," he seethed, taking a step closer to the reporter who seemed to be ignorant of his emanating anger. The rest of the paparazzi had taken a step back and were eagerly watching the two.

"We don't do everything for a profit, Mr-" Bumper glanced down at the reporter's tag but found none, "-wait a minute. Where the heck is your tag?"

The color drained from the man's face as he struggled to come up with a viable reason. "I- I- Er- It's got-"

"You are **so** not invited to this show, aren't you?" Bumper's voice got louder as he stepped forward again, forcing the man to take a few steps back. He glared at him for a few more moments before calling for security. Bumper turned to face the rest of the reporters and sighed.

"Bumper, people have always questioned the motives of bands who perform for charity." The same frizzy-hair woman started, wording her question carefully as to not provoke the manager.

He took a deep breath as he faced the horde in front of him. "The Treblemakers are really here to do their part for the visually-challenged people. In fact, we went to their homes to distribute groceries and supplies before the entire show." He said sternly, his eyes roaming across the cameras and notepads.

"I hope that would tarnish whatever bad rep any other person may have built up for celebrities who simply wanted to do their part for the community. I understand that the suspicion towards our motives will always be around – like how I'll always be suspicious of anyone coming too close to any of my charges," he motioned at the horde who hung their heads slightly in guilt.

"I hope you guys have all enjoyed the show tonight and made your contribution to this worthy cause. If you'd excuse me, I have to go." With that, Bumper waved his goodbye and disappeared behind the red curtains.

* * *

Jesse nudged Beca in the shoulder as they stepped back to admire their work. They had transformed the dull and dirty rooftop terrace into a dazzling and romantic place – complete with fairy lights, streamers and bright-colored furniture. Chloe was walking around placing tealight candles. When she was done, she turned around to face her two friends who grinned back in kind at her.

"Great job, guys! This is so pretty – Bumper will be so stoked!" She gushed, joining them and accepting the cup of iced tea from Beca.

They stayed in silence for a long while, looking around to ensure nothing was out of place. Jesse suddenly yelped and ran over to the makeshift stage. The girls followed him and gasped when they saw the bundle of wires. Jesse looked at them helplessly.

"Becs, could you help with this? I'm so hopeless with this stuff." He mumbled sheepishly.

Beca squatted down next to him, taking the wires from him, "Don't worry, I've got this. Why don't you guys go check out the food prep downstairs?"

Both Jesse and Chloe nodded, leaving Beca to set up the sound system.

* * *

Aubrey could feel her heart in her throat as she stood outside the door. She pursed her lips and started to regret her decision when she felt Luke's hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, no second-guessing. He's your dad after all." He whispered, rubbing her back. Aubrey nodded, gingerly turning the knob and pushing the door open.

The siblings squinted slightly as they adjusted to the light. Aubrey saw her mom first and rushed to her side to hug her. Annabelle wrapped her arms around her daughter tightly and placed a kiss on the side of her head. "Oh baby Aubrey."

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their moment and the two women broke apart.

Aubrey shifted her weight on her feet as she looked up shyly at her father. "Dad."

John nodded curtly, "Aubrey."

"Aubrey, dear, why are you here? Aren't you busy preparing for Bumper's birthday tomorrow?"

"I- I-"

"I asked her to be here, mom." Luke chimed in, trying to alleviate the thick awkwardness that had descended onto the room. He plopped down on the bed, earning him a light slap around the head from Mr Posen himself. "Hey, dad!"

The older man glared at him before fixing his gaze on his daughter. Aubrey squirmed under the scrutiny, regretting her decision to be here. She dared a glance at her father and felt confused when she did not recognize that look in his eyes. The silver-haired man looked almost embarrassed; his features softer than usual and his eyes slightly kinder – unlike the critical ones that she was so accustomed to.

_Must be a figment of my imagination. Oh my gosh, I'm going crazy._

"Aubrey? You haven't answered my question." Annabelle tried again, stepping closer to her daughter and sweeping her blonde locks back.

"I just thought I should come and help dad-"

"-You don't have to come. Luke's here." John's voice boomed across the room and it broke her heart.

The blonde bit back her tears; Luke looked taken aback by his father's indifference towards his daughter.

"But dad-"

"-Luke, come help me with my bags. Aubrey, if you're busy, you should go."

"Dad-" Luke got cut off as Aubrey swiftly turned and left the room; the sounds of her heels against the marble flooring resounded in their ears. Luke felt anger rising up his gut and he quickly picked up the bags. "I'll see you guys down at my car."

Annabelle watched her son leave before turning back to glare at her husband. He cowered slightly under her gaze and shrugged.

"What?"

"Your daughter wanted to take you home. Why don't you let her?"

"I know she didn't want to."

"You don't know that – heck, you never gave her or yourself a chance to know, John!"

"She hates me, Anna."

His wife softened at his words and rubbed her hands on his back, "No, she doesn't. John."

"She must. I've been too hard on her." Tears started streaming down his cheeks as he recounted the instances where he'd yell at his daughter for not being perfect enough. Heavy sobs wracked his body as he remembered her words that night at the hospital.

_I love you daddy._

"John, dear, it's not her fault – you know that."

"I know," his voice barely a whisper as he fought back his tears, "but I can't help it. I look at her and that scene just comes back to me as if it just happened. I can't lose you, Anna."

"And you haven't lost me, mister. I'm right here. So are Aubrey and Luke. We're all here, John." she whispered, wrapping him in her arms.

* * *

Bumper heaved a sigh of relief as his back slid down the plush black seats of the limousine. They were heading back to LA tonight, catching the redeye flight. The Treblemakers were scattered around him, lounging lazily on the couches with cans of soda in their hands.

"Bump," Donald called, "thanks for bailing us out there."

The stocky brunette nodded, not looking up from his own soda can. He pursed his lips in deep thought before speaking up. "Okay, I want you guys to answer me honestly."

"Okay." They chorused.

Bumper took one last glance around the group before dropping the question, "How do you feel about performing for charity? You do know that there's absolutely no paybacks involved here, right?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah, we know. You're paying for our hotel and plane tickets out of our pay checks."

"And we're totally cool with that," the man with the afro hair chimed in.

Bumper looked slightly taken aback, "Are- Are you sure you're ok-"

"Sure we are. Unicycle's right – we're totally cool with it, Bumper." Donald cut in, taking a swig from his can. "After all, it's time for us to return the grace the community has showered on us."

The stocky man mulled over the bespectacled man's words, turning to face the remaining two members who had remained quiet, "Benji, Greg – you guys too?"

A man with dark roots and blonde top nodded furiously. "Totally. You know what, it actually felt more amazing performing for those who are less fortunate than for a bunch of paying fans. I've never felt this sense of satisfaction before."

"We should do this more often, shouldn't we boys?" Benji asked, peering around his group who nodded in agreement.

Bumper examined their faces for any trace of lies and found none. He finally smiled as the boys cheered and raised their cans to congratulate their epic ending to the 3-day gig.

* * *

"That should fix it." Beca muttered, flicking the switch and grimaced when the mic screeched. She quickly adjusted the dials on the soundboard, smiling when the screeching ended.

The brunette took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill her lungs. She then got up and walked onto the stage, standing behind the mic. Her navy blue eyes roamed across the terrace and she smiled – glad that nobody was around. She gingerly picked up an acoustic guitar next to her, strapping it over her shoulder. Picking at the strings, she quickly adjusted the tuning before strumming across the instrument.

"Mmhmm." She hummed satisfactorily at the sound, and pulled the mic to her level.

_I was your sailor / your demon / your lover / your overbearing best friend / hoping / for some attention / i saw through your automatic heartache / now i know that love is as love__ was / it's downhill from here / should i run a million miles away from every memory of you / ooh ooh ooh / let that be a lesson to me / think not with my heart but with my head / oh oh oh oh / no i never really had it in me / did i / did i / no i never re__ally had it in me / did i / see i never really had in me / did i / did i / did i_

Tears swept down her cheeks as she sang; her eyes closed as she poured herself into the song. An image of a girl with a shock of red hair and bright, cerulean eyes appeared in her mind. Beca strummed harder, hoping to get rid of the image.

_I was your armchair / your mattress / your tv / your everlasting talkshow host / mouthing / baby you're wonderful / i fell under your control / switch on switch off / robotic and / i lost __every ounce of myself_

Beca was now heaving breathlessly as sobs wracked her petite stature. She stopped playing and used her sleeves to angrily wipe away the tears, knowing it was a fruitless attempt. _They just keep coming, like you._ She thought, plopping down on the floor, defeated.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain redhead was standing in the doorway, listening; her own eyes glossy and brimming with tears as she wondered who broke Beca's heart so badly. Chloe shook her head and tried to ignore the rising ache in her gut.

_What's happening to me?_ She thought, turning her back to the singing brunette and leaving the scene.


	12. the one where Bumper turned 30

PART ONE CHAPTER TWELVE

**THE ONE WHERE BUMPER TURNS 30**

"Alright people! We're done!" Aubrey clapped twice, halting everyone's movement as they turned and awaited her further instructions. She beamed brightly at everyone, happy that the place was finally set up and ready to go.

She walked over to Beca and nodded, "Becs and I are heading to the airport to pick up Bumper. He's already expecting us. Jesse, you'll stay here to welcome the guests; Chloe – make sure the food is piping hot when we get back!" The blonde then looked around and frowned.

"Where's Luke?"

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Luke Posen! You naughty boy!" Stacie moaned, gathering the white sheets into her fists as she arched her back.

Luke looked up from his ministrations and grinned devilishly. "Enjoyed that, m'lady?"

Stacie smirked. "It's not bad."

The brunette watched the blonde man slowly crawl up the length of her body towards her; her dark green eyes swept between his own light blues orbs and his lips. Luke smiled as he dropped down slowly to close the gap, only to frown when his lips caressed her cheek instead.

"Seriously, Stacie?"

"Luke, you know I don't do that."

"It's just kissing." The brunette shook her head, sitting up and pushing the blonde man away at the same time. She stood up to gather her clothes, pulling her brown locks back into a messy ponytail. Luke rolled his eyes in frustration, but handed over her bra anyway.

When she was dressed, the brunette turned around and gave him a peck on his forehead, smiling as she pulled away.

"You're an amazing lover, Luke. I'll see you at the party later."

* * *

"Will you stop that?"

Beca frowned, removing her hand from the dials and crossing her arms. "Your music is boring the life out of me."

"The other stations won't play, Becs. It's not like I want to listen to Beethoven all the time." The blonde retorted, pulling into a parking lot. She turned off the engine and faced the brunette. "Beca."

Her serious tone caught Beca off guard as she slid her seatbelt off of her. She spun around to see a sad blonde gazing back at her. "Aubrey?"

"Don't mention anything about the party to Bumper later."

"I won't. I'm not stupid, Aub. It's a surprise party, isn't it?"

Aubrey sighed, rubbing her temples. "Yes, but there's more to that. Bumper...he never celebrates his birthdays."

"Is this the only time you guys remember his birthday? That's so not in the friendship code, Posen."

"No! Of course we celebrate each other's birthdays. Bumper is... unique."

The brunette arched her eyebrows and nudged Aubrey in her arm to continue. When the blonde remained silent and pensive, Beca spoke up.

"Something happened on that day, right?" Aubrey nodded, sliding her seatbelt off and opening the car door.

"Come on, Becs. Let's go. Just thought I should give you a heads-up in case..." Her voice trailed off as she stared ahead at the airport complex in front of them.

"Don't worry, Aub. I'm sure Bumper will be fine." The brunette grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the arrival hall. _I certainly hope so,__ Mitchell. _The blonde thought to herself as a gust of cold air hit her face when the sliding doors opened.

* * *

"Hi, welcome to Bumper's 30th! He's on his way and will be here in a few. I'd like to thank all of you for coming here tonight. As you know, it's a surprise so I've got to give you guys some instructions." Jesse spoke into the mic, gaining everyone's attention.

Almost every person on the guest list had arrived and were mingling around the cocktail station. Chloe motioned for the brunette to continue without waiting for the last guest. He nodded.

"Okay, I need you to hide along the side, near the parapet with all these poppers. When Bumper arrives, you guys would pull the string, let it pop, and yell Happy Birthday at our big man." A few _Okays_ and _Alrights_ chorused amongst the crowd as they acknowledged the simple instructions.

Luke stood nearby, sipping his daiquiri when he felt someone lean against him. Stacie threw him a wink and drank her lychee martini.

"Cool party."

When the blonde man did not reply, the brunette turned to face him. "Hey are you alright? You still upset?"

"I-"

"-Friends with benefits. I've set the ground rules – you've accepted them. No turning back now, Posen." she cut him off coolly, sauntering off towards a group of men who had been ogling at her.

Luke watched as pangs of jealousy hit him in the core. He quickly downed his drink and walked the other direction to greet a group of ladies he'd never met.

"How you doin'?"

* * *

"There he is!" Beca jumped and pointed at a stocky brunette standing not far away. A wide grin was plastered on his face as he took in the sight of the two beautiful women running his way.

"Wow, didn't know you're so popular with the ladies, Bump!" Donald nudged him in the ribs, earning himself a glare from his manager.

"Hey ladies! You're here. Meet my boys-" Bumper turned around and gave the band a "Don't you do or say anything funny" stare. "Donald, Jason, Unicycle, Benji and Greg."

"Hi guys!" Aubrey smiled and winked.

"Hi..." they replied in unison; their eyes dreamy as they took in the blonde's good looks and seductive smile. Bumper discreetly cleared his throat.

"Alright, let's go home. You boys, have fun on your way back. Don't drink and drive!" He wagged his finger in a menacing way at them before wrapping his arms around the women's shoulders.

"Okay boss! Happy birthday, Bumper!" the boys chorused after them.

Beca felt his arm tense and tightened around her shoulder. She exchanged dark looks with Aubrey.

"Let's- Let's go home, girls. I'm tired." Bumper stammered, throwing his bags into the trunk before clambering into the backseat.

* * *

Jesse slid his cell phone into his back pocket and glanced around the crowd. He found Chloe and quickly made his way over.

"They'll be here in five. Do we have everyone?" The redhead shook her head.

"We're still missing Fa-"

"-Hello, hello! What's a party without Fat Amy!" A loud voice boomed across the terrace and everyone cheered. Some of them recognized the comedian from Club Hyena and jostled forward to greet their comedic idol.

"You're Fat Amy?" Chloe asked, reaching the broad blonde who was busy signing some of her fans' t-shirts.

"Heck yes, ginger. Man, I didn't know I have fans!"

Chloe smiled, passing her a glass of Long Island Iced Tea. "I hope this will help you get the party started, Fat Amy." The blonde grinned in kind and downed the drink, causing Chloe to drop her jaw in surprise.

"Woah, that's... pretty cool."

"Yeah, I'm the best drinker in Tasmania, with these," Fat Amy gestured at her chest and winked. Chloe felt herself blushing at her words.

"Okay, well, enjoy yourself. We're expecting Bumper in a few minutes."

"They're here! Everyone into position!" Jesse screamed, waving around madly. He held onto the door knob, his ear pressed against the wooden panel. He lifted his other hand and gestured the countdown.

"3, 2, 1 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUMPER!"

The stocky man froze; his eyes bulged and his jaw dropped forming an oval shape. Both Aubrey and Beca nudged him forward as Jesse pushed a cart over with a huge cake set on it. He spun around to face his friends – the look in his eyes demanding an explanation.

Aubrey gave him a small smile as she replied, "We love you so much, Bumper. We know you don't dig birthdays but hey, it's your 30th and your gig was so successful! Just relax for tonight and simply enjoy yourself, will you?"

Beca nodded her agreement eagerly. The stocky man thought for moment before slumping his tense shoulders.

He turned back to all his friends and guests, waving his hands around. "Thanks guys!"

"Just blow out the candles and get this party started!" Chloe gushed, pulling out her camera.

"1, 2, 3!" He blew hard, extinguishing all 30 candles on the enormous cake.

_A while later..._

"Pint size!"

Beca spun around and smiled at her Australian friend. She clumsily grabbed and tugged Bumper over and motioned between the two. "Bump, meet Fat Amy. Fat Amy, this is Bumper."

The broad blonde threw a wink in his direction and cooed. "So, this is the famous Bumper Allen – star of the night."

A flush crept up his neck as he loosened the button around his collar. Beca noticed and giggled, pushing the man towards her friend causing them to collide and spill their drinks.

"Beca!"

She continued to laugh, turning to walk away. Before she was far enough, she felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Becs, you're drunk." Jesse said, pulling her to stand upright. Aubrey was standing next to him with worry etched on her face. The two friends watched as the brunette glanced around the party, fixing her navy blue eyes on a certain redhead who was setting up her gear on the makeshift stage.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She waved her arm around, breaking away from Jesse as she stumbled over to the drinks station.

"Keep a close eye on her, Jesse." Aubrey mumbled, striding off to talk with the guests. The brunette nodded, lifting his cup to take a drink of his Lime Vodka when his eyes fell on the redhead.

Chloe stood behind the mic and smiled brightly at the crowd.

"Hi people. I'd just like to thank you guys for being here; you have all been absolutely wonderful guests. Bumper," she pointed at her friend who was smiling ear to ear, "you're so awesome. I want you to know that. I'm so glad we get to celebrate this day with you. Here's a song for you and I hope you like it."

She lifted her hands over the keyboard and pressed down. The familiar melody of Lenka's _Everything At Once_ rang through the air and everyone started bobbing their heads to the beat; some were tapping on the floor with their feet whilst the rest started moving their bodies to the rhythm.

Jesse managed to locate Beca who was bent over an ice bucket and playing with its contents. She picked up a piece of ice cube and grasped it in her palm, squeezing it – watching the icy clear liquid flow through the gaps between her fingers and drip back into the bucket. Jesse sighed and heaved her onto her feet.

"Come on, Becs. Let's join the party."

"Party?"

He nodded, supporting her as they hobbled back to the crowd to where Bumper was standing. By now, everyone was dancing. Beca glanced around and smiled – all of her worries and cares gone as she lifted her arms and started flailing them around. Jesse and Bumper looked at her for a moment before joining in – bobbing their heads up and down and wriggling their shoulders. Aubrey and Luke joined in a few moments later, each shaking and bouncing their bodies to the beat of Chloe's song.

The redhead herself had spotted her gang in the midst of the crowd and laughed at their silly antics. Her cerulean eyes fell on Beca and her heart pang with an unfamiliar ache when she saw a man dancing up to her friend and placing his hands on her waist. The redhead quickly averted her eyes and continued her singing, choosing to look elsewhere.

She did not see Beca pushing the stranger away and kicking him in his shins; she did not see Bumper holding the short brunette back whilst the rest of their friends tried to appease the man who was hopping around in pain. She did not see Beca casting her one last look before Bumper pushed her through the door to head back to their apartment.

* * *

"Let me go!" She screeched, grabbing blindly at the hands that were firmly clasped around her shoulders. Bumper frowned and held her still, gently guiding her into her apartment before closing the door.

"Beca." He chided, fetching a glass of water from the kitchen. The short brunette took the glass and downed the liquid.

Bumper sat down on the coffee table to face her. He studied her mascara-streaked face and shook his head.

"Why are you doing this, Beca?"

"I'm sorry, Bumper. I don't mean to be like this." She slurred, placing the glass down on the table but missed, sending it crashing to the floor. "Oops!"

* * *

The crowd exploded in cheers as the song ended. Chloe smiled and bowed, switching off the keyboard as she stepped off the stage. Her friends greeted her and Aubrey passed her a plate of food.

"Eat. You haven't eaten since lunch."

"Thanks Bree. Where's Beca?"

"With Bumper. She's pretty tipsy."

Chloe snorted, munching on a chicken wing. "Yeah I could tell. Where's that man she's with?"

"Man?" Luke and Jesse raised their eyebrows. "You mean the one whom she kicked?"

The redhead nearly choked on her wing. "She kicked? I thought she was hooking up with him?"

Aubrey shook her head and motioned for her friends to head over to a quieter corner. "We're pretty sure that did not happen." She said, glancing up at Chloe who looked slightly confused.

The redhead opened her mouth to speak when she felt her cell phone vibrating. She quickly passed her plate to her best friend and wiped her hands against the back of her jeans.

"Sorry I've got to take this." She frowned when she saw the caller ID. "Beca?"

* * *

"I like her so much! She occupies every single of my thoughts. When I wake up, the first person in my mind is her; when I eat, I wonder where she is and what she's having – or if she's eating at all; when I recorded my mixes, I had every song planned with her in mind; when I go out shopping, I wonder if she would like that pair of shoes or that handbag... When I go to sleep," Beca exhaled, blanketing her eyes with her forearm, "the last person on my mind is that redhead. That beautiful, most wonderful redhead."

Bumper listened quietly as he swept and cleaned up the glass shards.

"Beca... Why are you keeping this all to yourself? Don't you think she deserves to know?"

The short brunette sat up straight at his words. "You're right. She never knew. I haven't got a chance to tell her."

Bumper nodded, getting up to throw the broken glass away. Beca slipped her hand into her pocket and retrieved her phone. She was about to press speed dial when she paused and frowned.

"But she's with that Jamie."

"Who's Jamie?"

"That redheaded idiot who was in the party earlier, dancing close to the stage."

"That one? Beca, he looks uber ga-"

"-Who am I kidding, Bumper? Chloe and I – she won't ever have feelings for me. Oh my gosh. I'm such an idiot!" The brunette stood up and staggered over to the fridge, retrieving a small bottle of vodka. "Every time I've tried to tell her, I get cut off! It's like, she never wanted to know or there's someone up there who hates me too much to let me speak."

"Becs, that's enough alcohol for tonight. Give me the- ah crap." Bumper watched on helplessly as his friend emptied the entire bottle into her mouth. She then flung the glass into sink, smirking when it shattered.

"There," she pointed at the broken glass, "that's my broken heart right there. All shattered, my friend. I should have fled from her when I've had the chance to."

"Becs..."

Tears were now gushing down her cheeks and Beca couldn't be bothered to wipe them away. She peered at the stocky brunette and laughed bitterly; her cell phone clasped tightly in her hand. Her heart throbbed as her emotions went into overdrive.

"I should have... I should have left when I had the chance to!" Her voice suddenly becoming louder as she ran towards her room, shutting Bumper out. She wasn't going to push down her frustrations and her jealousy anymore.

The man rapped on her door, worry written all over his face when he heard a lamp crash behind the door. "Beca!"

Inside, Beca threw herself on the bed and pressed 1 on speed-dial. She waited.

"Beca! Just tell her how you feel! Please don't hurt yourself. Sit down with Chloe sometime this week, maybe over coffee or something and tell her. You'll never know until-" He froze mid-sentence, catching wind of her words. "Beca...? Oh no, no no. Put down that phone! Becs! Are you listening?"

"Chloe?" Beca breathed out shakily, ignoring her friend's frantic yelling and knocking on her door.

* * *

"Beca? Hey, what's up? Where are you? Is that Bumper shouting?" Chloe asked, her eyebrows creased and knitted together.

"Chloe, let me speak. I've always wanted to tell you about how I feel but I am always interrupted, or cut off! I'm sick of it!" The redhead grimaced at the shrillness of her voice, pulling her cellphone slightly away from her ear. Aubrey moved to stand nearer to her best friend; her eyes bulging when she heard the one-sided conversation.

_Shit._

"Choe. I'm calling you to congratulate you on finding happiness. I'm so **happy** when you dumped that horrible human being that is Mike - really I am happy for you. And I wanted to tell you how happy I am now that you've found Jamie so **quickly**!" Beca punctuated her last words with a snap of her fingers.

"Becs, that's not... Where are you, Beca? Are you alright?" Chloe asked worriedly, motioning for Jesse and Luke to split up and search for their friend.

"I'm fine, Chloe. Everything is fine! In fact, I'm calling you to tell **you**," Beca pulled the cellphone away and burped loudly. She smacked her lips before returning to the call.

"Excuse me. I'm calling you, Chloe Beale," the brunette lifted her free hand and gestured carelessly in the air, "to let you know that I am _**so**_ over you. And that, my friend, is me fleeing... fleein-"

Bumper managed to unlock the door and crashed into her room. His wide eyes landed on the brunette who had passed out on her blankets; her arm outstretched over the edge of the bed with her cellphone lying haphazardly on the floor.

With shaking hands, he picked up her cellphone and placed it to his ear, wincing when Chloe's next words tumbled through the speaker.

"You- You're **over** me?! But since when were you **under** me?"

* * *

A/N: Thank you very much for reading till the end. I know some of you think that Chloe's an idiot but I'll sort her out in Part II. Yes, there are several parts to this entire story (all in my head now, actually). This will also include why Bumper's aversive towards his own birthday and the real reason behind Aubrey and her dad's estrangement. In the next few Parts coming up, Beca's career, Luke & Stacie, and Bumper & Fat Amy will be addressed, muehehehe.

Anyways, just to reiterate: not all characteristics of FRIENDS's cast will be featured – this is after all a PP fiction. Just to calm your pits, here's how I matched the characters:

Beca – Rachel / Chloe – Phoebe / Aubrey – Monica / Jess – Ross / Luke – Joey / Bumper – Chandler.

I think there's only 1 correct guesser so far – good job! I applaud you. If you wonder why I've paired them as such, feel free to PM me (:


	13. the one when she woke up

PART TWO CHAPTER ONE

**THE ONE WHEN SHE WOKE UP**

_Oomph_!

Beca teared her eyes open and sat right up. She froze as the foreign arm slung across her chest started to retreat back under the blankets. She robotically turned her head to her right, taking a sharp intake of air the moment her eyes land on the snoozing figure next to her. She watched as the hump beneath the blankets rose and fell in a steady rhythm and she almost felt bad for doing what she was about to do. With trembling hands and halted breath, she reached over and slowly yanked away the thick quilt, screaming as she did.

"What? What? Who goes there?!" Aubrey jumped up on the mattress and her body prepared itself in a fighting stance. Her fists held up to her face and chest levels - her brows furrowed though her eyes were still half-closed. Her blonde locks mussed in most glorious way possible with drool trails staining the sides of her chin.

Beca blinked and stiffly released the blankets from her grip, letting it fall and collect at Aubrey's feet. The blonde whipped her head around, still looking for signs of danger. When she decidedly found none, she punched her arms up in the air and stretched – letting out a low bellow of yawn before smacking her lips in lazy satisfaction. Beca was unimpressed.

"What the heck, Posen." She spat out syllable by syllable, emphasizing the last name. Her arms crossed in front of her chest whilst her face sported a very crossed look. Of all the persons stated in the name list from the party last night, Aubrey was probably the last she'd expect to wake up next to her – what with her bedroom just across the hallway.

The blonde shot her an uncommitted shrug and sagged back into the warm covers, shimmying down before lifting the said quilt up and over to her ears. Beca rolled her eyes at the coos the blonde's made as she made herself comfortable in her bed.

"Let me sleep, you doofus!" Aubrey grunted and turned away from her roommate, refusing to budge despite the many pokes and light kicks sent her way. Beca let out an exasperated groan, fully yanking the blankets away to the blonde's chagrin.

And her own embarrassment.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and reached over the foot of the bed, grabbing a pair of pajamas shorts and throwing it at Beca's face. "Dude, don't go naked on me."

"Oh please, you know you'd want these." She shot back as she hurriedly pulled the shorts up her bum. The two friends then sat there in bed in silence – Beca trying to swallow her flush whilst Aubrey tried desperately to stay awake.

How could she when she barely had a proper wink? The blonde started to rub circles on her chest, easing the gagging feeling of bile chasing up her gut as memories from last night flooded her mind.

"What happened?" Beca asked in a meek voice – her eyes darting down to her hands as she worried at the corner of the blankets that now lay draped haphazardly over the edge of the bed. "Why- What are you doing here in **my** bed?"

"I-"

"We didn't have sex, did we?!"

The blonde's eye twitched at her words and she had to breathe twice as hard to keep herself from reaching over to slap the brunette up the face.

"You had a lot to drink and by 'a lot', I really meant nearly half the bar. Bumper carried you back to your room and you literally trashed the place."

"What?! No..." Beca took a gander round her room, frowning when she found it nearly spotless – no sign of trouble at all, "You're kidding. This place is clean, and **tidy**! Not that I've ever seen it this way but-"

"I cleaned it for you, okay? You blacked out after you let a hurricane cross your room a million times and Bumper and I had to clean up after your mess. You'd really think I'll let you sleep in a bed filled with broken glass?"

Beca opened her mouth in response but got cut off with Aubrey's palm held up firmly in the air inches from her face. She blinked hard at the hand and gulped, scooting back into her pillows and where she hoped to be a safe zone from the furious blonde across from her. Aubrey sighed and ran that hand through her hair, letting them cascade down the back of her neck as she rose to leave the bed. She almost reached the door when Beca's small voice stopped her.

"Where's Chloe?"

* * *

"Your attention please, this is your captain speaking. We will be arriving shortly at Tampa International Airport – 20 minutes ahead of our scheduled time. The local weather reads 90 degrees with a clear sky to boot and we are flying approximately 30,000 feet above the ground. All passengers are to return your seats and to ensure your seat belts are fastened. Crew to get ready for descent."

Chloe let out an heavy breath at the end of the announcement, peering out the window as her hometown came into view. _No going back._ She was about to return to her iPod when someone tapped on her shoulder lightly. Feeling slightly annoyed, she tilted her head up and shot a glare at whomever had the guts to interrupt her favorite "alone time". A beaming stewardess with a short crimson crop bowed at her and gestured towards the device, totally oblivious to the death glare sent her way.

"Hi Miss, we'll need you to switch your iPod off to prepare for landing. Also, do ensure the back of your seat is up. Thank you!"

Chloe pouted at the retreating figure, twisting and wrapping the earphone wires around the MP3 player before throwing it into her bag. She then returned her gaze to the scenery outside, leaning her head against the plastic wall of the aircraft and sighed. Her fingers absentmindedly making work of a beat against the seat's arm as she lost herself in her thoughts for the nth time.

Coral blue waters greeted her as the aircraft neared its destination, her face relaxing for the first time since she took off with her backpack. Yet all she could see racing past her eyes was the image of a brunette bent over a piano – her stormy blue eyes fluttering close as she played a tune so close to her heart, broken.

_Should I run a million miles away from every memory of you?_

The redhead continued staring out the window, ignoring the pull of the descent, ignoring the cries of a scared toddler nearby, ignoring the nagging feeling that she could be at the wrong place, at the wrong time;

ignoring the fact that she's drumming out one of Beca's mixes on the arm of the seat.

She's home, she needed to be home – she's convinced herself. Aubrey wasn't but she couldn't care less. She needed to get away, she couldn't face her. Not after what she's heard. It was clear and loud – there's nothing else anyone could possibly deny. The pain that came right after the beep wasn't something the redhead was prepared for. In fact, if anything – she's confused. She couldn't understand.

"Miss? We've reached Tampa. Are you alright?"

The same beaming lady tugged at her arm, rousing Chloe from her stupor. She shook her head and waved the stewardess away, rising up to realize the entire cabin has been emptied, save for a few crew members combing the aisles for loose pieces of rubbish. She quickly pulled her backpack down from the overhead bin and made her way down the aisle.

_No turning back._

* * *

Aubrey parted her lips in an attempt to speak but the words got lost at the tip of her tongue. How could she say? What could she possibly tell her? The truth, or a perfectly crafted excuse? Both would hurt the brunette to no end, probably shredding her heart into pieces in varying degrees. The blonde clenched her grip over the door knob, taking in a sharp intake of air.

"She's gone."

"Where?" Beca's voice was so broken that the blonde couldn't bring herself to even turn and look her in the eye. Her lack of response was driving the brunette restless and increasingly agitated. She flipped her legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring the blankets that pooled on the floor as she rushed over to the blonde, pressing, "What happened?"

"She- Chloe needs to be with her family now."

"Did she leave a note? I was supposed to meet her later to-" The door flung open, her grip still on the knob. Steeling her eyes ahead, the blonde took the first step past the threshold, her shoulders tensed at the movement.

"She needs to be with them now, Becs. We just have to wait for her to come back."

Beca's grip over her elbow tightened for a few seconds before finally loosening. She let her hand fall and the blonde jumped on the opportunity to escape to her own bedroom, carefully closing the door behind her. The shorter woman numbly stepped past her own threshold, turning her eyes upon the door decorated with polaroids and fairy lights, a weird feeling bubbling from within her.

Aubrey searched around her room, tossing things around trying to locate her phone – cussing under her breath when the device didn't even seem to be present within the perimeter. A soft knock on the door grabbed her attention and she gingerly opened it, her breath hitching when a mop of brown hair revealed itself.

"You left this."

"Thanks."

"She's left you a bunch of messages. You should- You should check them." Beca turned towards the kitchen and started making her way, only to be pulled back into a hug. Aubrey closed her eyes as she wrapped the brunette into her chest, her arms squeezing them together.

"Hey ladies, I've made my special banana pancakes as- Oh." Bumper stopped short in the living room when he saw the two women deep in embrace. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, kicking around the floor with the ball of his foot as he waited for them to break apart. It was Beca who pulled away first, clearing her throat and mumbling something intelligible before rushing off to the bathroom. The blonde sighed as she turned to greet the stocky brunette.

"Morning, Bump. You were saying?"

He shook his head. "Just breakfast. She okay?"

"Chloe's left. Back to Tampa. Beca doesn't seem to recall anything about last night though. Should we-"

"No. I think she's better off that way." Bumper plopped down heavily on the couch and gestured for Aubrey to join him. The two friends stayed like that for a while, silent and brooding over the events from the night before.

/

_I'm over you. I'm over you. _

_I'm over you._

Beca hit hard against her head, slamming her palms again and again on the sides, trying to ease the ache as memories surfaced. She stopped and wheeled around, turning on every single tap in the bathroom, and letting the gushing water drown out her cries as she slumped down against the wall, melting onto the cold hard floor in a puddle of tears.

She wasn't even drunk. Her mind was crystal when she threw every caution into the wind and uttered those words down the phone. It was then that her body finally caved in as fatigue caught up with her. She collapsed not because of the alcohol. She fell because of her.

It's too tiring to keep falling in love with someone who could never do the same for you.

But she couldn't flee. No such option.

* * *

"Morning people!" Luke chirped as he slipped into the seat next to Jesse, beaming at the stack of pancakes placed in front of him. "Bumper's special?"

His neighbor nodded, passing him two slices and a bottle of maple syrup. The blonde happily gobbled down the contents, ignorant to the solemn mood displayed around him: Jesse simply biting onto a small piece of the pancake pierced on a fork, letting it hang as he wondered how his best friend was doing now; Aubrey stirring her mug of coffee mindlessly – her head thick in unknown thoughts; Bumper simply hid his face in his palms, his own nightmares from the past haunting him.

And now this.

"What should we do today, guys? Frisbee in the park?" The blonde continued obliviously, flipping the day's newspapers and perused its subheads. No one shot him a look, no one bothered. The lack of response finally roused his attention and he lazily lofted his head towards his friends.

"Huh. Did I miss something?"

"I'm... I have a phone call to make." Aubrey left without a second look at her untouched plate. Jesse followed suit, mumbling something about checking on Beca. Bumper simply left the table without a word, locking his bedroom door behind him.

Luke looked around the now-empty apartment, 3 plates of pancakes sitting across his own on the table untouched – mostly untouched. With a growl from his stomach, the blonde simply shrugged and pulled the plates towards him.

"Ah well, at least I have pancakes."

* * *

"Pumpkin! What are you doing at my doorstep so early in the year, sweetheart? Is Christmas here already?" An elderly lady hobbled her way towards the redhead, her arms wide opened for her precious granddaughter. The redhead giggled and rushed to meet her, swinging her arms around the elderly lady's shoulders when she did.

"Nana. I'm here because I miss you."

Not very convincing. The sharp-minded lady arched an eyebrow at the younger girl, her own blue eyes twinkling as she studied the redhead's facial features.

"Really. You missed me so much that you bursted into tears?" Nana reached to wipe away a stray tear from her cheek, her smile kindly. Chloe exhaled slightly, feeling sheepish that her excuse fell through so quickly. She hitched her backpack up her back and nodded towards the inside of the house.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course. What a silly question. Go on up to your room and change out of those clothes. You smell like cigarettes and alcohol. Your mom won't be too happy about that."

"Oh no, Nana, I was at one of my best friend's birthday party last night and I didn't have the time to change." Chloe stopped at the foot of the staircase and wheeled around, "Where's mom and dad anyway? And Clyde?"

"Your parents have gone to the store for a bit; Clyde's probably still upstairs being a pig. Can you wake him up? Breakfast's ready. You come down and join us too."

The redhead flashed a wide grin at her grandmother and hurried up the stairs – two steps at a time. Trust her Nana to still be able to lift her mood – even if a bit. She stepped past her brother's room, tiptoeing her way so as not to wake him up, only to perk her ears at the sound behind the half-closed door.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of her. Yeah, if she's the one- Right. Okay, I'll keep you updated. Alrigh-"

"Who are you talking to, Clyde?"

The teenager spun around, surprise splashed all over his freckled face as his sister towered over him. His lips morphed into a lopsided grin as thousands of excuses raced through his mind. His brown eyes darted everywhere while the silence between the two siblings thickened. Chloe frowned and crossed her arms in front of her, her eyes glued on the phone held tightly in his hand.

"Who are you talking to, Clyde?" She repeated, bending slightly as she inched her hand forward towards the device. Her brother gulped and moved back onto the bed, frantically pressing on the red button to hang up the mysterious call.

"No-No one."

"No one?"

"I- Uh- I-"

"Clyde..."

"Fine. It's Aubrey alright? She's just wondering if you're here already. You can stop your glare now."

"Why is she calling **you** and not me? Since when are you guys that chummy anyway?"

Clyde threw a quick glance at the open door before turning back to his sister. He bowed his head slightly, his voice hung low. "Well, since you left LA in such a rush!"

"That's still not reason enough for her to not call me first. I mean, my phone's still- Dead. Great, my phone's dead."

Clyde rolled his eyes and handed his phone charger over to the redhead. He lay back down on his back, his arms crossed behind his head as he watched his sister search the room for an empty socket.

"So, why are you here suddenly anyway? Does ma and pa know?"

The older redhead shook her head, smiling when she heard the beep from her phone to indicate that it's charging properly. She then rose to head towards the door, her heart set on washing off the fatigue and sadness left on her body. Clyde's serious tone halted her actions, making her spin around.

"You left because of Beca, right?"

* * *

Beca wiped the stains off her cheeks and forced out a puff of air from her mouth. Her stomach growled and protested against the churning of gastric juices and leftover alcohol within but she ignored it at once, gripping the edge of the bathtub to give herself a lift onto her feet.

"Beca, open up." Jesse's voice suddenly boomed on the other side of the door.

"I'm naked, go away."

"I'll close my eyes and take my chances. Open up." The shorter brunette grunted and swung the door open to meet a frowning Jesse. His eyes welled with empathy for his friend as he lunged forward to embrace her, running his hand through her tangled brown locks. "Are you okay?"

"I think, I did a very stupid thing last night."

The brunette man worried hard at his lower lip as he deliberated her words. Confessing your pent-up feelings over a drunken phone call?

"Yeah, it's pretty reckless of you. Anyway, just- just let it be, Becs. Chloe needs to think it through."

"What's her reaction? Did she say anything?"

"Uh..."

* * *

"_You- You're over me?! But since when were you under me?" _

_Her usual cerulean irises shrunk to reveal so much white Aubrey got scared for a moment. Her grip over her own beer bottle tightened as she pressed furthered in against the other side of the phone, desperate to hear more._

"_Beca? Beca! Hello? Damned it." _

"_Becs' all knocked out, Chlo." Bumper's voice floated through the phone and both women let out a frustrated groan. "I need some help here, Aub."_

_The blonde grabbed the phone over and told the man they're heading right over, motioning to her brother to quickly go assist the brunette. Wheeling back at the redhead, she grimaced at the intense glare directed at her. _

"_Did you know about this? Aubrey, did you?" Chloe asked, inching forward as she retrieved the phone from the trembling hand with deliberate slowness. "You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?"_

_Aubrey opened and closed her mouth, not sure what sort of answer she should give that'd bail her out of this sticky mess. She quickly threw a look at her "comrade" - Jesse who hovered behind Chloe with the most guilty look on his face. _

"_Uh-"_

"_Save it. My gosh, she said something about fleeing. What, she wants to flee from **me**? Is that what she wants now?"_

"_Chlo-"_

_The redhead thrust her palm up to Aubrey's face, shushing her. Taking one last gander around the still ongoing party, Chloe exhaled slowly and made her way towards the exit._

"_Where are you going, Chlo? Are you going to find Beca?"_

"_She's yours to handle, not mine, Bree. You guys take care of the guests. I need- I need to head back a while. I need my folks."_

"_But I'm here, Chlo-"  
_

"_Well you're not doing a very good job, are you?"_

_Jesse pushed past the stammering blonde, reaching over to grab and halt the redhead before she'd reach the door, "Will you come back? Aubrey needs you. Be-"_

"_Yes, Jesse," she sighed heavily, "I just need some time and space right now."_

* * *

"So she just took off like that? Because I stupidly said that I wanted to flee? For real?"

Jesse nodded, turning the tap off and twisting a piece of hand towel dry. He turned and gently pressed the warm, damp fabric against her face, wiping away the drool and tear stains. Beca leaned into his touch, her eyes finally dry though they remained puffy and sore. After a few moments of silence, she suddenly reached up and halted his action. Jesse cocked his eyebrow and moved to sit down next to her.

"Should I go after her? I didn't actually want to flee... But she was with that Jamie guy-"

"Jamie's gay, haven't anyone told you? Gosh, you can be so blind to the signs sometimes. Anyway, no you shouldn't go. Let her calm down. Who knows – maybe something good will come out of this. That's what always happens in movies."

"Jesse-"

"Don't go all predictable on me, alright? It's your best bet now if you really want Chloe: that's predictable happy endings, by the way."

Beca sighed and leaned against his shoulder, taking comfort in his presence now. Both of them not realizing a third presence near them, hanging right outside the door.

"I'm sorry. What am I going to do now?"

Jesse huffed as he pushed himself off the wet floor, reaching down to offer his best friend his hand. Beca took a long look at the offer, darting her eyes between the limb and his puppy eyes. He's not making them on purpose. With another deliberate puff of air, she pulled herself up and dusted her butt, throwing him an expectantly look.

"Well, for starters: you're going to have to clean this bathroom or Aubrey Posen will kill you herself – thereby dashing all your hopes with our favorite ginger. After that, go indulge yourself in your classes and Cynthia Rose's offer. I think Chloe would want you to do that too. Make it happen, Becs."

The blonde nodded her agreement at Jesse's words, turning to head back to the men's apartment. She threw one last look at the bathroom before exiting the apartment, her phone held firmly in her hand.

_Chloe, she's alright. Come back soon._

* * *

A/N: Continuing from here instead of starting an entire new book. I apologize for the hiatus. Thank you for being here.


	14. TOW the girl with red hair & blue eyes

PART TWO CHAPTER TWO

**THE ONE WITH THE GIRL WITH RED HAIR & BLUE EYES**

"Alright nerds, listen up. I want your mix-cds to be in my birdhol- What? You don't lik- Fine. Pigeonhole, okay? By end of this week – complete with a short write-up why you made it the way it is. This will be your final assignment before the exams so do your best."

Beca smiled as she watched her class slowly file out of the room, each mumbling their thanks to their teacher whilst the screeching of furniture against the wooden reverberating across the room as they did. She turned back to her desk, scooping up several documents when a small, timid voice stopped her.

"Ms Mitchell-"

"Really? Six months with me and you still call me- Fine, what's up?" The short brunette crossed her arms and perched her butt against the edge of the desk, trying her best to look taller than the lanky teenager standing in front of her. The girl worried at her lower lip as she tried to conjure the right words for her question. After a few prolonged seconds of silence, Beca cleared her throat again and nudged the student gently with her fist.

"Hey, Ashley? It's okay. What's wrong?"

The bespectacled girl let out a soft sigh, pushing her spectacles up her nose bridge, "I uh, I'm thinking of using _Glorious Ruins_ with _Fix You_. I'd thought it would sound great but I'm having trouble wit-"

"-the tempo. I get it. I heard you playing some weird Christiany song earlier when I walked past your desk. Well," Beca gestured to the girl's macbook and she immediately slid the lid open for her teacher. "Let us see what we can do."

Ashley leaned in as she watched Beca take a listen at the first song. The brunette bobbed her head along with the melody, her fingers tapping out a consistent beat. After a few bars, she paused the music before turning back to Ashley, a smirk apparent on her face.

"You're getting good at this, Ashley. I can see what problem you're having here. Which is the slower song?"

"_Fix You_."

"Right. So what you can do is-"

"To slow down _Glorious Ruins_ so that it'll run along with _Fix You_."

"And you've just got your mix. Great! Now, run along and complete it so that I can hear your masterpiece, DJ Ashley O'Leare." The teenager blushed as she kept her notebook, waving her thanks before disappearing behind the door as she bounced down the hallway. Beca continued smiling as she listened to the hurried footsteps fade off into silence.

"I see that this job is keeping you happy." Beca swung around just in time to see Aubrey finish off her half-eaten chocolate bar. Pouting, she made a swipe at the blonde's shoulder, causing the latter to fall back onto the desk. "Hey!"

"That's what you get for eating my lunch."

"Lunch? Really? Anyway," Aubrey picked up and waved Beca's phone in the air, "CR called. She wants to see you later. Something about having found a new talent and she wants you to be the producer on her album."

"That's... Great."

"Woah, what's with the enthusiasm?" Aubrey queried, frowning at the shrug directed her way, "hey, is this about Chloe again?"

Beca stared at the phone, her action of packing things into her backpack temporarily suspended as her mind raced. It has been a week since Chloe went away, taking off with a luggage, her favorite sneakers, and the brunette's heart. The two friends hadn't talked for a while, with Aubrey being the mouthpiece for Chloe to send her well wishes to Beca. The shorter one didn't really respond, simply nodding her head whenever Aubrey fit Chloe into their conversations. When that happened, Beca was quick to avoid the situation.

Not this time. Not really.

"No," she wheeled around to face her friend, a frown set deeply on her eyebrows, "do you really have to bring her in whenever we talk? I'm not that affected anymore, you know?"

"Says the girl who isn't comfortable enough for me to bring Chloe into our conversation. Nice chocolates, where did you get them from? I used to have them-"

"I know. I took them from your stash. Not very smart of you to hide them under your bed, Posen. Ow!" Beca grabbed her backpack and made a beeline towards the door, turning her head just in time to sneak a tongue at the fuming blonde and avoid a flying encyclopedia.

"Have fun at your piano recital later!"

"Thief!"

* * *

A clap of thunder shook the tempered glass panels, making the handful of girl scouts shriek as they huddled closer near their makeshift stall. A stocky brunette donning a baseball cap made his way over and smiled kindly at them, reaching out towards their cookies with a hundred dollar note clasped in his hand.

"Here, I'll take two of these."

"You want the minty chocolate cookies, sir?" A pale-looking girl wearing thick glasses shyly queried, her own hand reaching out to take his offered money. He nodded, taking two boxes of the desired cookies and dropping them gently into his metal buggy. She quickly calculated the change and held out the loose notes and coins to him but he only shook his head.

"You girls would have a long time at your stall given the weather outside. Keep the change." His words elicited the biggest smiles from the girls as they watched him push his buggy towards the fresh produce area. The same man stopped right next to another brunette with a curly crop who was currently busy choosing a bag of carrots.

"Helped out those poor little girls again, didn't you?"

"Yes. So, what are we buying today, J-Man?"

The second brunette halted his actions, "Never call me J-Man. Urgh. It's Jesse. What's wrong with Jesse? Or J." He tied up the bag of carefully-chosen carrots and handed it over to the first, "Go and weigh these. Aubrey likes carrots."

"Since when do you care about what she likes to eat?" Jesse dropped the zucchini he has held out to sniff, causing his companion to sport a raised eyebrow.

"I- Uh- Si- Since- Oh shut up, Bumper."

"Here are your special carrots for Aubr-" his eyes shot wide open, "is it her birthday?!"

"Oh my, no it's not. Chill. I just thought we should be nice to friends and help them with their groceries since we're here." Jesse shoved Bumper away and grabbed hold of the buggy. He pushed it down the aisle and dropped two bags of baby potatoes and three bags of multi-colored peppers, ignoring the smirk on his friend's face.

_Since when does anyone of us eat peppers?_

* * *

Beca tapped the ball of her barefoot against the carpeted flooring as she waited for her assigned singer's arrival. Cynthia Rose has gone to fetch whom she's dubbed "The Newest Voice on the Block". The brunette has rolled her eyes at the title, her stomach's getting into knots as she psyched herself up for her new talent and the upcoming collaboration. She jerked her head up the moment the door creaked open.

"Luke? What the heck are you doing here?"

"Beca?" The blonde seemed equally confused at her presence, glancing around the room before taking a seat on the couch next to her. "What are you doing here?"

Beca gestured at the closed door, a frown apparent on her face, "Waiting for my new client. You?"

"Jody? Jody Beckett is your new client?" Beca nodded, her eyes fixed on the door, willing it to open. "Woah. CR just called me this morning to come over. She said she has got this new pairing whom she wants me to know – you know, for my upcoming show. I think she wants me to feature them- You, I mean."

"But we haven't even done anything yet."

"Well, that's CR for you. Getting every base covered, that woman."

His lips have just barely closed at the last syllable when the door flung open to reveal CR and a pretty-looking girl with straight, spunky red hair. Not ginger but red. Orangey-red. Luke immediately wheeled around to see Beca's expression but she's remained indifferent. _Hmm. Interesting._ He gave Beca another one glance-over before returning his attention to the newcomers.

"Took you long enough, CR."

"And hello to you too, Posen. Check out my new girl – Jody Beckett." The African-American was all smiles as she gently guided the girl to the centre of the room. While Beca has definitely met the girl in picture, seeing her in flesh for the first time was still quite mind-blowing. They quickly jumped up from their seats and took turns shaking her hand.

She didn't let go on Beca's turn.

"You're my producer?" She asked, giving the shorter brunette a once-over before fixing her eyes on hers, "I've heard your stuff. You're good."

"Thanks, can I have my hand-"

"And you're short." Her comment made all eyes in the room to be fixated on the brunette; Beca could feel them burning into the top of her skull, her neck heating up with frustration. She abruptly withdrew her hand, wiping it against her sweater.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Beca turned to face her boss, "really. You brought in a teenage rebel to pair with me? Does my music sound like teenage angst to you?"

Cynthia Rose looked almost affronted. "No, Beca. Her voice, you've heard it."

"Yeah, her voice is good. But, why a teenager?"

"Ahem. CR, you told her I'm a kid?"

A hapless-looking Cynthia Rose turned to Luke for help but he simply raised both palms and took a step back from the group of females in front of him. Years of experience have taught him not to ever meddle in women's business. Cynthia Rose's eyes trailed down towards the desk next to her and the stack of files sitting on it. She gestured towards the stack almost desperately and quickly grabbed the one on top.

"I didn't, look." She pointed at Jody's details and true enough: her birth date was clearly indicated under Personal. "Jody's written some songs, Beca and I want you both to go through them and see if you can make actual music out of it, okay? Now go on to room 2, I've got it all set up for you. Go on. I need to talk with Luke."

"CR..."

"Go. I've been in this business long enough to know you two will fit each other like ice cream and brownies."

Beca scoffed as she took the file from Cynthia.

"I never like ice cream and brownies."

* * *

Bumper ran the length of the parking lot and dropped the grocery bags on the floor, swinging his arms to get rid of the building ache. Jesse popped his head around the corner and motioned for his friend to follow him. Sighing, the brunette gathered the bags and jogged over to his roommate, both soaked from the rain and panting.

"Remind me to never shop with you again." Bumper huffed, leaning over to rest the bags on the floor. "We just bought two months worth of food to last all of us."

"No, we didn't. Come on." The two men shuffled into the tiny elevator, the doors barely closing when they heard a loud yelp from the other side. Jesse's eyes widened and he quickly punched the button, causing the doors to part. A heavily-panting blonde stood right outside, bent over with her hands on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Th-Thanks, I- Jesse? Bumper?"

"Hi Aubrey." Jesse beamed, shifting so that she could enter the already-cramped elevator. Bumper grunted a greeting, his eyes throwing daggers at the back of Jesse's head as he quietly endured the weight of his friend on his foot. Aubrey returned the smile and turned to look at Bumper whose face was quickly turning pale from the pain.

"Bumper? What's wrong?"

"Jesse is stepping on me." The brunette looked down and quickly moved away, showering apologies on his roommate.

It was then that Aubrey realized the amount of groceries. Jesse blushed at her raised eyebrows.

"Uh, just in case. And we bought you and Beca's share too."

"Yeah and he bought you carrots, Aub. You like the- Ow!"

Jesse threw another glare at his roommate as he withdrew his elbow, mouthing some warning at him and ignoring Aubrey's confused look. The three then descended into silence, each swallowing their saliva and secretly willing the elevator to reach their floor quickly.

* * *

Seemed like it was a good day for awkward silences.

Or maybe there really wasn't anything much to talk about between the two ladies locked in a staring contest with the floor in front of them. Jody alternated the staring between the said carpeted ground and her perfectly manicured nails, whilst Beca simply tuned in to the fibers, at times breaking into questions in her head like, _what happens if I have a toothpick stuck in the carpet and I fall on it?_

After what seemed like a thousand years (millions of thousands, according to Beca's invisible watch), someone finally made a sound. A croak, or a cough. Beca couldn't tell. She simply lifted her eyes up tirelessly, almost lofting her eyeballs to the source of the sound. Now Jody's looking at her.

She had really bright blue eyes.

Bright blue.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Uh." Beca shook her head, her hands flailing about as her eyes darted around to find some useful source of distraction for them both. They landed on her file. "Songs."

"Songs?"

Beca shushed her with a non-intended palm and flipped the file open. The girl did write quite a number of them, each with emotion-wrenching words. Beca's finger traced over each handwritten letter, absentmindedly wondering if any teardrop has seen these words before they were even given to anyone. The creases on the paper gave her the answer.

Subconsciously, of course.

"You have any sort of melody in your head when you wrote these?" Jody nodded, inching forward with her arms swinging, her steps light and bouncy as she crossed the room. "Mind humming for me?"

Jody hitched her chin towards the particular piece of paper Beca's holding. "This? Uh. I can sing it for you."

"Be my guest."

_did you want me to feel separated or elevated? / it is tragic how I'm suffering and you are not at all / did you want me to feel motivated or reinstated? / i sent my head against that wall / why on earth did you call / me last night / after all / that you said / the night before / that was so uncalled for / you broke my heart / you broke my heart / you've broke my heart_

"Some boy broke your heart?" Obvious question really, but she had to ask. She needed to get into her psyche, make use of it; she couldn't use any of hers.

Not hers.

"**She** broke my heart." Oh. Still.

"Those are good words, and I like how you conveyed them in the melody. Let's see how we can go from there," Beca picked up the guitar leaning against the mixing console and ran her finger across its strings. Tuned. She eyed the paper for a while, Jody's voice replaying in her ears as she worked the chords.

She's getting something. But Jody held out her hand, her fingers resting on hers. Warm flesh against freezing skin.

"You know, you sound an awful lot like her."

Beca didn't move.

* * *

Back in the guys' apartment, Jesse was leaning against the bar, sipping on his beer. Actually, more like tapping its tip against his lips, tasting the condensation off its glass. Bumper, who's on his last bag of grocery, shot him a look.

"If you're just going to waste that bottle of beer again, I'll have to ban you from drinking. That's good beer, man." He folded the empty paper bag and threw it into the bags drawer, looking up when he received no quip in return. "Jesse? Yo, Jesse!"

"What?"

"You seem pretty out of sorts recently. What's up? Beca's stuff troubling you?" He sighed at Jesse's slight action of shaking his head, pulling the fridge door open and grabbed a bottle, "and you sure you want to do dinner tonight? I'm actually craving sushi."

"Aubrey likes sushi. We can have that."

"Aubrey?" Jesse's eyes appeared dazed, staring into the space right before him. Bumper inched nearer to him so that they're almost shoulder-to-shoulder, his head leaning towards Jesse's as he tried to gain his perspective on things. All he saw was their brand-new plasma television hanging off the wall and a pair of Luke's underwear on the back of the couch.

Bumper's never going to rest his head on that spot anymore.

"Jesse?" Silence. Except for a very goofy grin creeping across his boyish features.

_Something must have happened during that party,_ he thought, finishing off the beer. He looked over at Jesse's bottle and grabbed it over, downing the lukewarm liquid. Once he's done, the clock on the microwave chimed six times. Jesse remained still with that smile.

"Alright, statue boy with creepy smile. I'm going to bring these stuff to Aubrey's and then we go for dinner. I'm calling that Akashi place alr-"

"I'll get her the carrots, I'll get her the carrots!" Jesse suddenly snapped back to life and pulled all the groceries into his arms, bolting out the door (only barely managing to open it with his socked foot) and leaving behind a mouth-hanging Bumper.

He nearly dropped the phone he's holding when Jesse's head suddenly popped around the opened door.

"Hey Bumper, drop Akashi and call Ichiban. Aubrey prefers them."

* * *

Aubrey has just managed to send an overzealous Jesse away, barely convincing him that she has packed dinner for herself when her cellphone rang. Whoever that was, he was her hero.

Or _she_ was.

"Chloe!" Aubrey sang into the receiver, closing the door on Jesse's puppy eyes. "Thank God!"

"Woah, enthusiastic much? You really miss me so much, huh?"

"Yes, no, yes. I had some emergency and your call managed to drive that away." Aubrey grabbed her food pack and slumped into the couch, turning the television on and leaving it to play in the background. "So, what's up?"

"I uh, I baked an alaska."

"What?! Dude, that's totally a Beca food."

"I know, I just... Mom didn't want me to mull in my room so she sent me to the kitchen. Make the family something to eat, she said but she already made dinner so all that's left was dessert, really."

"And you decided to make an alaska?"

The redhead sighed and Aubrey sighed along, knowing her bestfriend was probably twirling the telephone cord around her fingers now.

"Did you make the alaska, Chlo? With chocolate-vanilla swirl?"

"Shit, yes."

"Chloe Beale. After one week of denial, is this the way you're telling me that you are in fact in lov-"

"No! I'm not. Aubrey, I'm totally straight. I told you that. I just- I don't know why I made that, okay? And I don't know why I'm mulling either – don't think I don't know that's the next thing you want to hamper me with."

"Then why did you call me?" Aubrey rolled her eyes at the silence, placing another spoonful of fried noodles into her mouth. "Chlo?"

"I miss her." The blonde sighed again, this time more dramatic as she closed the lid on the empty pack and reached over for her bottled water. "As in I friend-miss her and not that kind of miss-"

"Chloe, when you miss me, you'd tell me. Why don't you tell Beca?"

"Because-"

"Of what she's said? What she has boldly confessed that night? She misses you too. She's just hard-headed about it, that's all."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. It's written all over her face. I think she's going to crack soon, that Mitchell. So how about it, are you coming home soon?"

"When I'm ready."

"Sure you'll be. Beca will be waiting."

* * *

"Give her up, Becs."

Beca scoffed and made a swipe at Luke, her eyes fixed on the taillights of the car running in front of them. The recording session has gone well, according to Beca's books and Cynthia Rose was pleased. She was all smiles again as the duo replayed what they've come up with in the short 3-hour session.

"Get off my back."

"Come on, she ran away the moment you confessed – what's that to show? You deserve better, B. Chlo's my friend yes, but you – I treat you like my sister. You got to know what you deserve."

"Then why aren't you standing up for Aubrey when she needed you? She's your **real** sister." Wrong choice of words put in a wrong sequence. But the brunette wanted a distraction.

It worked.

The car stopped at the road shoulder, other vehicles whistling past them as Luke turned the engine off. Beca took a quick gander around, trying to ignore the stuffiness building inside the car without the A/C. Great, she managed to piss a Posen off in the middle of the highway.

Luke didn't look at her the whole time. His eyes downcast, his hands fisted together as he breathed heavily to control his heart rate. Beca's nailed him, right in the heel.

"I did try for my sister, B. I was angry with what he said to her that day when we picked him up. And then she didn't want to see him. I love Aubrey, I do."

"But she doesn't deserve your parents, does she?"

"Mom loves her too, she must know that. But us Posens, it's always tough love. I don't know. Maybe we kids will love better than them, as parents. I hope so. I won't want my kid to hate me."

"Aubrey doesn't hate your father. They just never connect."

Luke shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks as he recalled that evening at the hospital. Mr Posen was getting better but Aubrey hadn't been visiting. In fact, she didn't visit at all. Not even the secretive ones that she'd pulled off the previous time. Beca smiled grimly and offered a pat on his shoulders, rubbing it soothingly and shaking him a little.

"I'm alright. Don't tell anyone that I cried, okay?"

"Scout's honor."

"So," Luke cleared his throat and turned to face his brunette companion squarely. "How about you?" Suddenly the height difference seemed to matter. Beca squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutiny.

"I'm- I already told her I'm over her. So that's that."

Luke squinted and suddenly lunged forward, grabbing her neck and pulling her towards him, their noses a mere inch from each other. Green eyes on navy blues, Beca'd thought he's going to go in for a k-

"You sure about that?"

Okay, he's **not **going to kiss her. She pursed her lips, the wheels in her mind churning. Luke looked further into her eyes and that's where he saw the answer. He was slightly surprised, but assured nonetheless. So they're not that different after all. Maybe, just maybe, Beca's _really_ his sister. He cleared his throat and shoved her back into her seat, ignoring her dagger-stares and grumbling at being mistreated. Turning the ignition key, the engine roared into life and he turned to look out for blind spots.

"Well then, I've got your back, B. Let's go home."

* * *

A/N: The lyrics aren't original; they're from the song _January_, by Autoheart from their debut album, _Punch_.


End file.
